


Mirror Image

by Kyarorain



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-14
Updated: 2009-11-14
Packaged: 2017-10-09 12:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/87657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyarorain/pseuds/Kyarorain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ash jumped into Mewtwo's machine to save Pikachu, he had no idea of the repercussions. The boy who has his face reaches out to take his life as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Mirror Image**

* * *

This came from an idea I had once, thinking what if the Pokémon weren't the only ones cloned by Mewtwo's machine? Then the idea become a plot and this fanfic was born.

Pokémon is owned by Game Freak and Nintendo. I do not own anything.

* * *

Mewtwo stood before his group of clones, looking out over the empty island. He had just erased all traces of the laboratory he had previously rebuilt from this place and now it simply appeared to be an undiscovered island without a population. Any moment now he was prepared to leave with the cloned Pokémon and find a safe place for them to live, the perfect hiding place where no humans would ever discover them. However, he had the distinct feeling that something was not right here. Mewtwo closed his eyes and tuned into his psychic abilities, sensing the other life forms existing on this island right now. Along with himself and his clones, there were the two humans and a Meowth who he had not perceived to be a threat. He didn't know how they had remained on this island anyway when everyone else had been sent safely back to the mainland but it didn't bother him. Then he sensed it, that other human life form that shouldn't have been there. Who was it?

'Remain here,' Mewtwo warned, turning his head to look at the Pokémon grouped behind him. 'I must seek out the unknown human.' He took to the air and soared over the island, soon hearing the sound of a high pitched cry from below. As Mewtwo descended to the ground, he caught sight of a tiny little body lying on the ground and walked toward it. His breath caught in his throat as he looked down at the wailing baby.

For a second, he remembered the smiling face of the friend he had lost when he was just a little one himself. Amber had just been a frail little girl who was unable to survive, while he had managed to live. Like him and the other Pokémon he had just left alone, Amber had been a clone. Mewtwo reached out and gently picked up the baby, feeling its soft flesh as it squirmed around in his paws. It was so small and vulnerable, a helpless little person who had somehow been brought into this world, but what was it doing on this island?

'Who are you?' Mewtwo thought, gazing at the mop of black hair atop the baby's head. It was screaming even louder now and furiously kicking its legs, while waving its arms. He had no idea what this small human wanted or what he was supposed to do with it. He was sure that humans were very different to Pokémon. A baby Pokémon could take care of itself but a baby human would surely depend on its parents to nurture it and raise it well.

There had been no babies on this island. None of the humans who came here had brought any with them, Mewtwo was sure of it, which meant the baby had to have come in existence sometime after their arrival. Then the truth hit Mewtwo and the tall Pokémon quietly gasped in realisation. This baby was no ordinary human being. Like him, it was a clone. The only way that could possibly have happened was if one of the humans had come into contact with the cloning machine.

'That boy. Ash.' Mewtwo looked at the baby's hair again with a troubled expression. He recalled how Ash had jumped down that hole after the balls, desperate to get back his Pikachu. He must have gone directly into the cloning machine and somehow the machine had created an extra, unneeded clone without anybody's knowledge. 'How could this have happened?' he thought, feeling a rush of anger that was mostly directed at himself. 'Not only have I created many Pokémon who will need me to protect them, I have also brought another human into this world. I cannot care for this human when I know so little about them.'

There was only one thing he could do now. Mewtwo knew he was incapable of raising this baby and he could not simply leave it to die. What right did he really have to decide the fate of this child? He was alive and had every right to keep on living. The baby boy crying in his arms was the same as him and his clones, the same as all other living beings on this planet, and the least he could do was ensure that the baby lived a proper life.

'Go and live with the humans.' Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue as he stared intently at the baby. With his psychic powers, he willed him to teleport away to the mainland. The baby would be safe there, he was sure. The humans would take him in and raise him well. With luck, they would never realise that the baby was no ordinary human being and he would never come to harm. Mewtwo turned around and hurried back to the place where he had left his fellow clones. It was time for them to leave this island behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Now we'll find out what became of the Ash clone. He rapidly aged, dyed his hair brown and was named Richie. No, I'm just kidding. Really.

* * *

Freak. Monster. Abomination.

They were just a few of the names he had been called ever since he was only a child. The people who found him on their doorstep, a vulnerable, crying newborn baby without even a blanket to call his own, had taken him in and given him the name of Reed. They must have cared for him at first, promising to raise him well and to treat him like their very own child, until they discovered the truth behind the strange baby that had been delivered to their home. They soon realised that he couldn't be an ordinary human and became afraid of him.

The reason was simple. He was not growing like a normal human baby and they knew it. It took just two months for him to be able to sit up and another two months for him to start walking. He was talking and learning to read before he had even turned one year old. By the time he was supposed to be two years old, he already looked to be four years older than he should have been. The people who had assumed the role of his parents tried to tell themselves he was just a very special boy, but secretly they were both terrified of this strange little child who was growing much too fast.

It was too much for them. The parents didn't even want to invite their friends into their own home anymore, afraid of what they would think when they noticed the freak of nature living inside their own home. They would get into arguments and cry even when he was sitting right there in the room, watching them with wide brown eyes full of curiosity. When he wanted their affection, they would turn away and ignore him, repulsed by the idea of touching this thing that had invaded their home.

They resorted to hiding him away, shutting him inside a room and keeping the door locked. Reed would sit within that room, staring at the walls all day and wondering what it was he had done wrong. He had no idea why his parents didn't love him or why they kept referring to him as a freak. Wasn't he a person just like them? How was he different from anyone else? All he wanted was for his parents to care about him and they couldn't even do that.

Another year passed by and he now had the appearance of a nine year old. It was at that time that they had finally had enough of him and kicked him out onto the street, telling him to leave and never to return. He had made the mistake of remaining on that doorstep where he was found as a baby years before and banging furiously on the door, tears streaming down his face as he begged for his mother and father to let him back inside.

The door had opened and for a moment, Reed thought that his parents had changed their minds and realised that they loved him after all. Then he looked up into the stony face of the man he had called his father and felt the sharp blow of a fist striking the side of his head. He cried out and hit the ground, his eyes filling with pain and hurt.

"We are not your mother and father and we never were," the man had spoken in a thunderous voice. "We never should have taken you in, you monster. Leave this place and never come back." He had slammed the door then, turning his back on the innocent child forever. All he and his wife wanted to do was return to their normal lives and put it behind them. Now that he was old enough to fend for himself, they felt they could throw him out and keep a clear conscience.

Now that he had been thrown out of the place he knew as home, Reed was left to wander the streets and search for food. His stomach would be constantly growling with hunger and it kept him awake as he lay in the street at night with only a blanket for warmth. Nobody ever thought to help the dirty, starving child roaming the streets. He resorted to eating the fruit off trees and bushes, desperate to stay alive. It just wasn't enough for him. What he wanted was to eat warm, delicious food that would fill him up nicely and help him to sleep through the cold and unpleasant nights.

Stealing was wrong, of course he knew that much, but he had no money and he was starving. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. The smell of warm bread lured him into the bakery and he looked around at the shelves of rolls and pastries, saliva flooding his mouth. Reed glanced over his shoulder, making sure that nobody was looking at him. His heart was pounding rapidly in anticipation as he thought of eating the soft, warm bread that looked so delicious. He reached out and grabbed two pastries off the shelf, turning and heading toward the door. When he heard the angry yell from behind, he ran down the street as fast as his legs could possibly take him, taking refuge in an alleyway.

The pastries were indeed delicious. Reed devoured one of them in a matter of minutes, sighing happily as his teeth bit through the crackly shell and the soft interior. The jam within was sweet and he licked it off his fingers, making sure not to miss a drop. This was the best thing he had eaten in a long time, much better than those berries he had been sustaining himself on.

He was about to get started on the second one when a shadow fell over him. Reed looked up into the dark eyes of a tall, bearded man wearing an apron and hat. His spirits sank as he realised that he had just been caught red handed.

"Steal from me, will you?" The man raised a stick in his hand. "I am going to teach you a good lesson!"

When the beating was over and the man left, the bruised and battered boy curled up in a heap and cried bitterly. The other pastry was lying on the ground, crushed beyond recognition, and he couldn't eat it now. He felt so sore that he could barely move. Tears streamed down his face as he quietly sniffled. Why did everyone have to treat him like this when he had never done anything wrong? The people who weren't really his parents after all had cursed him and thrown him out. The man had beaten him up simply because he wanted to make his hunger go away.

"Ee?" a small, high pitched voice spoke from close by. Reed weakly raised his head and saw a furry brown Pokémon with long ears and a tufted tail approach, black eyes shining with curiosity. The Eevee sniffed at his face then it did something that surprised him. It put out its small pink tongue and licked his cheek.

From that moment on, the Eevee stayed with him. It was the only friend he had in this cruel world where everyone hated him and he was glad to have one. The sadness he had felt toward everyone who mistreated him quickly became hatred. He didn't want to be near other people, believing they would be cruel to him just like the people who took him in and the baker, and he despised them all. The world had turned on him for nothing and he would also turn his back on them.

Still, Reed could not deny the fact that he felt just a little lonely even with Eevee by his side. Living in the wild and eating fruit just wasn't the same as being in a warm and comfortable home surrounded by people who loved him. He longed for attention and dreamed of the day when he found people who really cared about him, believing that it surely would come.

Another year passed by and Reed now looked to be around twelve or thirteen. He now carried Eevee around in an old Poké Ball that he had discovered just lying around and he was training it too, trying to become one of those people who called themselves Pokémon trainers. It seemed like an ideal lifestyle. Apparently those kind of people were respected for having strong Pokémon and winning battles, and he wanted to be like them.

Then the day came that would change his life.

The newspaper was just lying there on the bench. Reed sat down and picked it up, unfolding the newspaper and slowly flipping through the pages. He didn't care much for what was happening in the real world, but reading was a good way to pass the time when he was feeling bored. After turning a few pages, he caught sight of something that caused his blood to run cold.

His own face was looking back at him from the paper. Yet, this boy with the same face was not him. He had never worn those clothes in his life, never even had a picture taken and he had never even seen that Pikachu sitting on the other boy's shoulder.

"What is this?" Reed whispered, his hands shaking furiously. How could there be someone out there who looked just like him? He continued to stare at the smiling face, his eyes sliding up the page toward the headline. In bold letters, it declared **Ash Ketchum wins the Battle Frontier**.

"Ash? His name is Ash?" Reed looked down toward the text below the picture and kept reading, learning that the boy named Ash Ketchum was an accomplished Pokémon trainer who had competed in several leagues and gone on to claim every symbol from the Frontier Brains, effectively winning the Battle Frontier itself. It also told him that Ash was from a place known as Pallet Town.

Reed got to his feet and tucked away the paper inside his jacket, his face hardening in resolve.


	3. Chapter 3

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Reed was standing atop the tall slope, the wind blowing sharply past him and ruffling his thick, dark hair. He was perfectly still, looking out at the fields and houses stretching ahead of him as far as he could see. This was Pallet Town, the place where that mysterious person known as Ash came from. Reed was very curious about this Ash, who even had the same face as him, and he couldn't help but wonder what he might discover by coming to this place. Just the thought that maybe he would end up finding out more about himself made a thrill of excitement run through his body. Was it fate that he had picked up that newspaper and saw the face that matched his? Yes, it surely had to be his destiny, he thought.

"At last," Reed murmured to himself, a soft smile tugging at the sides of his mouth. "I might finally be able to discover who I am." Ever since his parents had thrown him out and he had learned that they weren't his true parents, he had wanted to know who he really was and where he had come from. Had he been born in the very town that he was now looking at?

His feet were taking him down the hill before he really even realised it. The young boy quickened his pace, his heart starting to beat even more rapidly. He was feeling excited at the prospect of finding out his past, but he also felt a little nervous as well. There had to be a reason why he was left on a doorstep as a baby, far away from this place. Was it because his real family had not wanted him? How would they react to him turning up out of nowhere? Were they even here in Pallet Town where Ash lived? He didn't even know if he was related to Ash in the first place, but the fact they looked so similar couldn't just be a mere coincidence.

As Reed wandered through the town, looking around at the few houses there were in this rural setting, he realised that he had no idea which house could be Ash's. At least it was a small town, so he wouldn't have too much difficulty finding out where he lived. It probably wasn't even likely that Ash would be here considering that he was obviously a Pokémon trainer and would probably be on another journey right now. At the very least, he hoped that he could speak to his family and maybe find out a little more about himself.

Pallet Town looked like a nice place, the boy thought as he came to a stop at a fork in the path and looked around again. It was a quiet little place with a homely feel about it and he sure wouldn't have minded living here instead. Reed had known very little about the town where he used to live, considering that his foster parents had branded him a freak and shut him inside a room where nobody could see him until the day they had thrown him out. He didn't know what it was like to live a normal life, growing up around people who cared about him, to have a proper family and friends. He bet that Ash had it so much better than him.

Reed was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of a female voice calling out. Whoever it was, they were calling out to Ash and he realised with a start that they had to be calling out to him. He must have been mistaken for Ash, looking so much like him in the first place. As he turned around, his eyes fell upon a white house with a red roof. A woman with reddish brown hair was standing at the fence in front of the house and waving her hand over her head while looking right at him. She was holding a watering can in one hand, apparently having been tending to her flowers, and a straw hat sat upon her head.

"Ash, what are you doing here? You look like you're lost." Delia placed the watering can on the ground, approaching the confused looking boy. She looked him up and down with a critical eye, placing her hands on her hips. "You look a bit thinner since the last time I saw you. Has Brock not been feeding you properly? Because I'm going to have some words with him if he hasn't."

"Uh..." Reed stared at her, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the right words to say. Did this woman honestly believe that he was Ash? How was it even possible that he could have been mistaken so easily for him? "No, I..."

"And where is Pikachu?" Delia looked around, seeking out the yellow mouse Pokémon and seeing no sign of it anywhere. She turned her gaze back to the boy she thought was her son. "Is it off playing somewhere?" Reed just nodded his head helplessly, his eyes wide. He really didn't know what he was supposed to say. "Well, I wish you had called me to let me know that you were coming home, Ash, I would have made sure to go out and buy your favourite food for dinner."

Reed jammed his hands in his pockets and stared at his feet, looking uncomfortable. He guessed that this woman was Ash's mother. She seemed so much nicer than the woman who had raised him and treated him like a freak of nature. The thought made him feel a pang in his chest and he swallowed heavily.

"Oh yeah, and why are you wearing those scruffy clothes? Your hair is getting so long too. I think it's time you got a haircut," Delia said teasingly. After a moment of silence, she realised that he was being really quiet. "Is something the matter, Ash?"

He really should have told her the truth then, but for some reason, he didn't want to. Reed raised his head and forced a smile as he looked straight at her. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just so happy to be back home again," he spoke, hoping that excuse would work.

"You must be if you came all the way back from Sinnoh just for a surprise visit. Well, now that you're back, I suppose I should see if I can cook you a nice, big lunch. You really do look so thin." Delia turned around and walked back toward the house, Reed following her inside. He stopped and looked around the house, while she went into the kitchen. Soon enough he could hear her opening the fridge and taking things out.

Reed felt a thrill of nervous excitement run through his body. He was actually standing inside Ash's house and had been mistaken for Ash by his own mother. What was he thinking, carrying on like this? Even though he knew it wasn't right, he couldn't help but go along with it. Reed caught sight of some picture frames hanging on the wall and moved closer to look at them. In the picture at the very top, he saw Ash standing with his mother, an elderly man in a lab coat, a taller boy with tan skin and squinty eyes, and a redheaded girl with an unfamiliar egg shaped Pokémon in her arms. In the second picture, Ash and the older boy were there, along with a brunette girl and a younger boy wearing glasses. In the third picture, Ash and his older friend were now shown with another girl, who wore a white beanie over her blue hair and was holding onto a penguin Pokémon. In all three pictures, a Pikachu could be seen sitting on Ash's shoulder.

Reed turned his gaze away from the pictures, a slight frown appearing on his face. Clearly, Ash had a lot of friends. He had only ever had one friend and that was the Pokémon he had befriended and eventually captured. At first, he had only been curious about finding this person with the same looks as him, but now he was starting to feel jealous. His whole life so far had been a miserable one and he had no idea what it was like to have a real family or friends. Ash had probably never known pain or suffering like he had. His whole life had surely been perfect from the start. Reed clenched his teeth, trying to hold back the surge of anger that welled up inside him.

"Mime?" The sound from behind caused him to turn around and he found himself looking into the face of a Mr. Mime, who was now staring at him intently with a suspicious expression. "Mime, mime," it muttered in an uncertain voice.

Reed backed away, a jolt of panic passing through him. The Mr. Mime was probably aware that he wasn't Ash after all. At least it couldn't talk, so hopefully it wasn't going to expose his charade. "What's the matter, Mr. Mime?" he asked in a faintly nervous tone. "It's only me."

"Mime." Mimey walked away, throwing a puzzled look over its shoulder before it picked up a nearby broom and began sweeping away at the floor. Reed let out an inaudible sigh of relief and walked over to the lounge, his gaze sweeping over the yellow furniture and the television. He sat down on the sofa and rested against the cushion, gazing at the wall with a troubled expression. Now that he was here, he wasn't sure what to do next. He hadn't come here with a plan in mind and now here he was, pretending to be Ash himself.

"Ash! Lunch is ready!" Delia called from the kitchen half an hour later. "Come and eat your food!"

Reed rose from the sofa and walked into the kitchen, his eyes falling onto the table laden with food. Immediately, his mouth began watering as he looked at the small dishes containing fish, rice and vegetables. It looked much better than what they had at the Pokémon Centers. He sat down in a chair and started helping himself, heaping food onto his place.

"You certainly are hungry, aren't you?" Delia observed a few minutes later, watching him with an amused smile. It surprised her how fast he was eating, but then again he looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. "I supposed you missed my cooking as well."

The food really was as good as it looked. Reed couldn't remember the last time he had eaten something so good. It was almost enough to bring tears to his eyes. "Your cooking is the best after all," he said, after swallowing a mouthful of rice. It was the best he had ever tasted at least.

"Of course. Nobody can replace me." Delia looked around, a confused expression appearing on her face. "It's strange that Pikachu hasn't come in yet. I hope nothing happened to it."

"It's probably just playing with other Pokémon or something." Reed was amazed that she hadn't put two and two together at this point and figured out that he wasn't Ash after all. She probably wasn't quite as aware of the situation as she should have been.

"Yeah, that's probably it. So, you are having a good time in Sinnoh, aren't you?" Delia enquired, popping a prawn into her mouth.

She had mentioned Sinnoh again. That was probably where Ash was right now, Reed guessed. "Sure. Sinnoh's great," he mumbled, sipping at a glass of fruit juice.

"It must be strange travelling in a new region, but of course you're used to it by now," Delia continued speaking. "Brock really needs to take better care of you though. Dawn seems like a nice girl. You two are getting along well, I take it?"

"Yeah," Reed said quietly, swallowing a mouthful of fish. He wondered what it was like to be on a Pokémon journey, far from home with friends at his side. Ash was so lucky, being on a Pokémon journey and travelling with other people. He wished that it could be him.

"Is there anything bothering you?" Delia asked in a concerned voice. "You don't really seem to be yourself today."

"I'm just tired from travelling, that's all," Reed lied quickly, hoping she would buy it. He didn't want to know how much trouble he would be in if he was caught. He quickly resumed eating, gulping down the delicious food. It would probably be a good idea to leave soon before anything else happened. The longer he remained here, the greater a risk he was taking.

"Well, don't overdo it, okay?" Delia advised. "I'm surprised you came home so suddenly like this. It was a nice surprise though." She returned to eating her food, watching him intently for a few more seconds. Something wasn't quite right here, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It seemed like there was something that he wasn't telling her, but what could Ash possibly could have to hide? Was there a reason he had suddenly turned up in Pallet Town, looking half starved and not even wearing the clothes she had made for him? Pikachu's absence was also worrying her.

Reed had soon finished eating and he pushed away the empty plate, feeling full and immensely satisfied. That was surely the best food he had ever eaten in his short and unhappy life. He knew he couldn't stay here for much longer though. "Thanks for the food," he said hastily, pushing his chair back and standing up. "Sorry, but I can't stay here any longer. I've got somewhere else to go."

"You have to leave so soon?" Delia stood as well, looking surprised. "Well, alright, Ash, but if something's bothering you, you know you can just tell me. Is everything really okay?" She stepped over and put her hands on Reed's shoulders, looking worried.

"Everything's fine, really," the boy spoke in a shaky voice, struggling to steel himself. She was being so kind to him, just like a mother would be to her son, and it was only making him feel even more bitter. Why couldn't he have had this, a caring family who looked after him and friends of his own? "It's nothing I can't handle."

"If you say so," Delia spoke resignedly, though she didn't seem entirely satisfied with his response. "Just take care of yourself, alright?" She then wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.

"Yeah, I will," Reed mumbled, feeling the back of his eyes sting with tears. Why couldn't he have had someone who cared about him in his life? Reluctantly. he pulled away. "Goodbye."

Delia watched on as he ran out of the kitchen, hearing the front door close as he left the house. She walked over to the doorway, frowning slightly. "Something strange must be going on," she muttered. "I just wish I knew what it was." She looked over at Mr. Mime, who was gazing at the front door with a suspicious expression on its face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Professor Oak was sitting in a chair outside, clutching a tea cup in his hands and gazing out over the reserve. The weather was good and he found it to be very calming sitting out here like this while drinking tea. At a time like this, he could spend it thinking up some more poetry. As he caught sight of a passing Bellossom, he watched it intently while thinking of something that he could say about the Pokémon. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a woman's voice from behind him.

"Hope I'm not intruding, Professor," said the voice. Professor Oak turned in his chair to see Delia standing there with a sunny smile on her face. "Tracey told me that you were out here."

"Oh, no, it's fine. I was just thinking about poetry," Professor Oak responded. He rose from the chair and drained his tea cup, looking at her questioningly. "So what can I do for you, Delia?"

"I was wondering if Ash came over here," Delia responded, her smile fading as she thought about earlier that afternoon. It had been very strange how he had unexpectedly turned up out of nowhere without any warning and how he had been behaving. She was hopeful that he might have seen Professor Oak and maybe told him what the problem was, as if it was something he couldn't have simply told her.

"When you say came over, do you mean called me on the phone?" Professor Oak asked uncertainly. "He hasn't called me in about a week, but I'm sure he should be making another call sometime soon."

"No, I mean as in actually coming right here to your lab," Delia told him. "I suppose he didn't then." Professor Oak gave her an odd look, clearly not understanding what she was talking about. "I know it sounds a bit unusual, but I was outside gardening and I saw Ash just wandering around outside like he was lost. I even made him lunch and he ate it up so quickly. It was like he hadn't eaten a decent meal in weeks. He did look a little on the thin side as well."

Professor Oak reached up to rub his head and exhaled noisily. He wasn't quite sure what she was talking about anymore. "Delia, you know that Ash is in Sinnoh," he said patiently. "It is quite far from Kanto. If Ash was actually coming home, which he wouldn't normally do until his journey was over, don't you think he would have called us to let us know?"

"That's just it!" Delia exclaimed, sounding a bit frustrated. "Ash was just there all of a sudden. It was quite a surprise. He had to leave so quickly after eating though and he didn't quite seem himself. I hope that nothing bad happened." She tapped her chin with a finger, frowning slightly. "I would have expected him to come and see you as well. Whatever it was, it must have been quite urgent."

"Let's go inside." Professor Oak put an arm around her shoulder and gently ushered her into the building, taking her to the lounge and gesturing for her to sit down on the sofa. He sat down next to her. "Delia, I know you must miss Ash very much while he's away. Perhaps you are feeling a bit lonely, but you must not let it get to you. If you need to talk about anything that's bothering you, you know that I am always willing to listen to you."

"Are you patronising me?" Delia asked in a somewhat annoyed tone, looking at him with narrow eyes. "Yes, I miss Ash a lot, but I am not going crazy. He was right there, even eating lunch at home in the kitchen. How could I possibly have imagined all that?"

Professor Oak was silent, gazing at Delia with a troubled expression. She seemed so sure that Ash had really been there, but how could that have been possible? He was supposed to be on a journey in Sinnoh right now. What could possibly have given him any cause to return to Kanto? "I'm sorry, Delia, but it just doesn't make any sense. Why would Ash come home and then leave so suddenly without any warning or even telling you he was coming in the first place?"

"I know." Delia rested her chin in one hand, sighing. "He seemed so troubled, like something was bothering him, and Pikachu wasn't even there. It was so strange. What could have happened? I wish he could have told me what was wrong, but he left so suddenly without even telling me anything."

"That is strange." Professor Oak folded his arms and frowned intently. "Ash seemed perfectly fine the last time he called. I don't understand it at all."

A heavy silence fell over the room, which was soon broken by the shrill ringing of the phone. Professor Oak got to his feet and walked over to sit before the computer, tapping a key to receive the phone call. The blank video screen flickered into life, showing Ash standing there with Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"Hey, Professor Oak," Ash greeted him. "I've got some good news for you."

"Oh, hello, Ash." Professor Oak glanced over his shoulder, seeing Delia get up from the sofa and hurry over to the computer with an astonished expression on her face.

"Ash?" Delia stared at the computer screen, her mouth dropping open. It was him alright, she was definitely sure of it, but then what had happened earlier that afternoon?

"Hi, Mom." Ash waved at her. He slowly blinked as he noticed the odd look that she was giving him. "Why are you looking at me like you saw a ghost or something? Have I not been calling often enough?" He paused, trying to remember the last time he had called. It had just been a week ago, hadn't it?

"Pika!" Pikachu raised an arm and smiled happily, while waving.

"You are definitely still in Sinnoh, aren't you?" Delia asked, sounding unsure.

"Yeah, of course I am." Ash raised an eyebrow. "I'm going all the way to the Sinnoh League, you know. I'm not leaving until I've been there."

"I'm guessing you don't have a secret teleport ability," Delia said in a weak voice smiling awkwardly. Now she was sure that something really strange was going on. There was no way that Ash had just been at home. Whoever was there, he was the spitting image of Ash, but he had looked much thinner and his hair was longer. He hadn't even been wearing the clothes that Delia made, which she could see that Ash was wearing right now.

"I'm not a Pokémon, Mom!" Ash exclaimed, sounding exasperated. "Why are you asking such weird questions?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Delia frowned, seeming troubled. "Don't worry about it, Ash." She waved a hand dismissively, flashing him an insincere smile. Whatever had just happened today, she didn't want to bother Ash with it. He didn't need to have any matters at home bothering him while he was busy in Sinnoh. "So, what's new with you then?"

"Oh yeah," Ash said in a startled voice. "That's right. I almost forgot." He reached into a pocket and pulled out his blue badge case, opening it and holding it up to the video screen. "Check it out. I just got my second badge after beating Gardenia in the Eterna City gym."

"That's fantastic news, Ash." Professor Oak beamed. "You really are well on your way to the Sinnoh League. I take it you didn't have too much trouble with that challenge?"

"Not this time," Ash responded. "The gym leader did defeat me when she challenged me in the Eterna Forest, but I got her good this time around." He raised a fist and smiled, seeming quite pleased with himself. "I can't wait to take on the third gym already."

"You really are doing well. I'm so proud of you," Delia spoke, smiling. "I know you're going to do very well in the league."

"Don't worry, I intend to," Ash said confidently. "We're doing our best, right, Pikachu?"

"Pi, pika." Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right, Ash." Professor Oak nodded. "You keep on doing your best like always."

"Uh huh. Well, I'll call again soon. Bye, Professor Oak, Mom." Ash waved at the screen, before the call came to an end and the video screen went blank again.

"How strange," Professor Oak said finally, rising from the chair and turning to look at Delia who was staring at her feet. "Delia, I want you to tell me everything that happened this afternoon. I really don't think you imagined any of it, I swear."

"I don't know what's going on!" Delia burst out, walking over to sit on the sofa again and letting out a heavy sigh. Her brown eyes were shimmering. "I really thought it was Ash, but it turns out he's still in Sinnoh after all and he's fine. Who did I see then?"

"Start from the beginning." Professor Oak sat beside her. "You saw someone who looked just like Ash?"

"Yeah. He was just walking around near the house," Delia spoke in a shaky voice, struggling to pull herself together. She was so shocked by what had just happened that it was hard to remain coherent. "I called out to him and went over to speak to him. I guess I should have realised sooner that something wasn't right. He looked so skinny and his hair was longer than it usually is, plus he wasn't even wearing the clothes I made for him. Pikachu wasn't there, but I asked if it was playing with other Pokémon and he said yes, so I believed him."

"How terrible," Professor Oak muttered. "He couldn't just have told you the truth?"

"I even took him into the house and made him lunch. The whole time, he knew that I had mistaken him for someone else and he couldn't just have told me?" Delia sounded angry now. "The nerve of that boy, deliberately pretending to be my own son. I don't know even who he was and why he looked so much like Ash."

"Yes, it's simply despicable what he did," Professor Oak commented, looking serious. "If that boy knows what's good for him, he won't dare show up again." He looked at Delia sympathetically and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Delia. It must have been an awful shock for you."

"I guess." Delia exhaled deeply, shaking her head. "I just feel so angry. Why would he even pretend to be Ash? It's just not right."

"How come you didn't say anything about it to Ash on the phone?" Professor Oak asked.

"I just didn't want to worry him," Delia replied. "He's really busy in Sinnoh and if he heard about this, I think it would probably be quite distracting for him. Anyway, maybe you're right and he's not going to show up again. If he does, well, I'm not going to fall for it again."

"I wonder why he came to Pallet Town." Professor Oak leaned back against the sofa, a frown appearing on his face. "It doesn't seem like his coming here was coincidental. He might even have been looking for Ash himself. It could be something to do with the fact they look so alike. It wouldn't be all that surprising if he had found out about Ash somehow, since Ash is quite an accomplished Pokémon trainer."

"I suppose that could be a possibility. If I discovered someone who looked just like me out of the blue one day, I think I would want to know why." Delia chewed her bottom lip, looking confused. "How come he even looks so much like Ash anyway? He even appeared to be the same age. The resemblance was so uncanny, I don't think he's some secret half sibling Ash's father somehow produced without me ever knowing."

"What does he even hope to find out from meeting Ash anyway? I'm sure Ash would be just as clueless as we are," Professor Oak said. "It will be quite a shock for him if they ever meet. I wonder what would happen if they did."


	5. Chapter 5

**Mirror Image**

* * *

"I've already got four badges now," Ash spoke excitedly across the table, before taking a bite out of his rice ball. He was currently sitting in the Pokémon Center's cafeteria with Brock and Dawn while they enjoyed a free lunch. "You guys know what that means, don't you?" Just the day before, he had successfully beaten the Pastoria City Gym Leader, Crasher Wake, and gained the Fen Badge.

"You've already told us several times, Ash," Dawn reminded him, smiling in bemusement. It was easy to see that Ash was very enthusiastic about how far he had managed to get. "You are already halfway to getting all your badges. You don't need to keep reminding us of that fact, you know."

"Yeah, I guess. It's just so exciting to think that I only need another four badges and then I'm going to qualify for the league," Ash said reverently. He looked at Pikachu, who was sitting on the floor and nibbling at Pokémon food. "You're excited about it too aren't you, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu raised a paw and smiled happily. He was quite eager to fight in another league championship for his trainer and best friend.

"We're definitely going to win this one." Ash raised his fists and grinned. "I have a very good feeling about this. Did you see how I wiped the floor with Crasher Wake? I didn't even have a single Pokémon faint."

"Watch the ego, Ash," Brock warned him. Ash sat back in his chair and exhaled heavily, throwing Brock an injured look. "Anyway, you were just lucky. You know there are far tougher trainers out there."

"I know, I know," Ash muttered, crossing his arms. "Can't you just let me feel good about myself for a bit longer?"

"Not if you're going to get carried away." Brock smiled. "I'm sure you'll do great in the Sinnoh League though. Who knows, maybe it will be the one you finally win."

"Thanks, Brock." Ash smiled back. "So, now that I've beaten the gym here, I think I'll head back to Hearthome City. The gym was closed the last time we were there, but maybe the gym leader will have returned by now. How can anyone be irresponsible enough to leave their gym for so long anyway?"

The three of them continued to chatter away, blissfully unaware of the person sitting two tables away and listening intently to their conversation. He sat hunched over his notebook, quietly scribbling away and glancing up every so often. His face was hidden by the turned up collar of his coat and the wide brimmed hat tipped down, so that nobody could see that he looked identical to the boy enthusiastically talking to his friends close by.

This was so ridiculously easy, he could scarcely believe he was getting away with it. They never even realised that someone was following in their tracks, watching them and listening in to their conversations for the past two weeks. Originally, he had made his way to Sinnoh and went to the trouble of tracking them down with the intent of actually speaking to Ash, but then when he had found him and seen him talking and laughing with his friends, that feeling had returned. The burning jealousy ate him up inside, consuming him and he wished so hard that he could have had a life like Ash's. He had never had relatives who cared about him, lived in a nice and safe home, travelled with friends by his side, and he hated it.

A slow grin spread over Reed's face as he lazily traced his pen over the page, glancing at the other page next to it which was covered in messy handwriting. This was going to be a piece of cake. He already had the perfect plan and he was so sure it couldn't possibly fail. Ash had no idea he even existed and wouldn't ever see it coming. It would be quite a while before the plan was put into action however as he still needed more time. For the time being, he would keep following Ash and his friends, watching, listening and learning while they remained unaware of his presence.

The sound of scraping chairs caused him to look up and he saw the trio getting up from the table, gathering the empty plates. Ash said something about going outside to train their Pokémon, as they walked away. Reed remained where he sat a little longer, watching as they left the caféteria, then he rose to his feet and went after them.

Outside the Pokémon Center, Ash, Dawn and Brock were now looking up at a large machine that towered over them. Pikachu waved his arms frantically as he tried to break free of the magic hand that was holding him hostage.

"Let Pikachu go!" Ash shouted angrily, clenching a fist. He knew very well who was behind this sudden attack and was understandably less than impressed.

The top of the machine opened up, revealing a woman with long red hair, her lavender haired male partner and the Meowth that sat between them.

"Is that a twerpish voice I hear?" spoke the woman.

"It's calling out to me loud and clear," said the man.

"On the wind."

"Past the stars."

"In your ear!" the Meowth chimed in.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."

"Dashing hope, bringing fear in its place."

"A rose by any other name smells just as sweet."

"When everything's worse, our work is complete."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"And Meowth, now dat's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."

"Team Rocket..."

"We're in your face!" the three exclaimed in unison.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet popped up and did a salute.

"Mime, mime!" Mime Jr. called out.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the machine now!" Ash ordered. Pikachu nodded and his cheeks began sparking as he prepared to release a massive shock.

"Pikachuuuuu!" Pikachu cried out as electricity flowed out from his body. It quickly fizzled out and he blinked, looking confused. "Pika?"

"It looks like they shock proofed the machine," Brock guessed.

"Shocking, isn't it?" James quipped. "We always make our machines electric proof, you know." He smirked, looking pleased with himself.

"Pikachu's all ours," Meowth taunted. "We're gonna take it to our boss and get that promotion we've been hoping for."

"Not so fast!" Ash shouted, throwing a Poké Ball. "I choose you, Turtwig!"

"In that case, we're not going down without a fight!" Jessie snapped, reaching for a Poké Ball. "Go, Seviper!"

"Piplup, you help out as well," Dawn ordered, looking down at her penguin Pokémon who nodded and ran forward.

"Come on out, Carnivine!" James called out as he threw Carnivine's Poké Ball. A moment later, Carnivine was clamped down on his head. "I'm not the target!" he exclaimed, flailing around and trying to pull off the affectionate flytrap Pokémon while Jessie and Meowth watched on in exasperation. Eventually, he had wrenched it off and flung it over to where Seviper was waiting to attack.

"Seviper, use Poison Tail," Jessie commanded.

"Carnivine, use Bullet Seed," James joined in.

"Turtwig, dodge the Poison Tail and use your energy ball attack now!" Ash ordered.

"Piplup, use BubbleBeam!" Dawn exclaimed.

Turtwig leaped into the air, dodging the glowing tail that swung toward it and an energy ball began to form in its mouth. Piplup ran forward, dodging the bullet seed attack that rained overhead and let loose a volley of bubbles that shot out toward Carnivine and Seviper. The bubbles knocked them back, leaving them unable to defend themselves against the energy ball that crashed into them and sent them crashing into the machine. The impact caused the magic hand to come loose and Pikachu went flying, landing in Ash's outstretched arms.

"Are you okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked, smiling.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.

"This doesn't look good." Meowth looked down at the gaping hole in the machine that had been caused by the impact of Energy Ball.

"Oh great. We've lost Pikachu and the machine's damaged." James looked downcast. "I guess we know where this is going."

"Get ready," Jessie said in a monotone, hanging her head. They all knew what was about to come next.

"Alright, Pikachu, use your Thunderbolt attack on the hole!" Ash pointed toward the damaged machine.

"Pikachuuuuu!" Pikachu cried out as it leaped into the air and fired off a bolt of electricity that arced toward the hole and struck it dead center. The entire machine was surrounded by electricity, causing Team Rocket and their Pokémon to cry out as they all got shocked. The machine sparked and exploded, engulfed by flames and a large cloud of smoke. Team Rocket emerged from the cloud of smoke as they soared up into the sky.

"Well, that was a miserable defeat," Jessie said huffily, folding her arms.

"We sure didn't last long against the twerps this time," James moaned as he clung onto Mime Jr.

"Next time, we're just going to have do a better job!" Meowth declared. "Sooner or later, we will surely get Pikachu."

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet agreed.

"We're blasting off again!" Jessie, James and Meowth finally screamed as they disappeared.

Ash, Dawn and Brock gazed up at the spot where Team Rocket had vanished into the sky with satisfied expressions. They were used to dealing with Team Rocket on a daily basis and were happy to have dispatched of them so quickly this time.

"Okay, now that Team Rocket is out of the way, it's time to do some training," Ash declared. "We've got to keep in shape for the next gym after all."

"I should work on my contest training as well." Dawn clasped her fists together. "I may have won the Wallace Cup, but I can't slack off now."

The three of them walked away, watched by the cloaked figure they had still failed to notice standing in the background. Reed made a quiet noise of disgust, unimpressed by Team Rocket's dealings. To him, they seemed to be nothing more than incompetent and bumbling morons desperately trying to steal Pokémon and failing horribly. This was probably the worst thing Ash ever had to deal with in his day to day life and yet it paled in comparison to what he had had to put up with in the past. To him, Ash's life was as good as perfect.

"How pathetic," Reed muttered under his breath, turning and heading in the direction that Ash and his companions had gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Mirror Image**

* * *

The snow was falling softly, a welcome change to the fierce hail that Ash, Dawn and Brock had to struggle through on their way to Snowpoint City while trudging through mounds of thick snow. They cautiously made their way through the snow, seeking out the Pokémon Center. It was bitterly cold, but they barely noticed it as all of them were wrapped up warm in thick winter coats that protected them from the harsh weather. As they continued walking precariously through the snow, they soon caught sight of a snow covered building with the familiar P emblazoned on the front.

"The Pokémon Center's up ahead! We finally made it!" Ash exclaimed, looking positively delighted. He was feeling exhausted after walking through all the snow for so long and right now all he wanted to do was sit in front of a hot fire and rest.

"What a relief." Brock reached up and brushed clumps of snow out of his spiked brown hair. "All this walking is really taking its toll on me."

"I could really do with a rest about right now," Dawn agreed, letting out a long sigh.

The trio hurried toward the Pokémon Center and came into the building, sighing in relief now that they were out of the snow and inside a warm, dry building. Nurse Joy was soon standing before them as they stood there, the snow melting on their clothes and dripping onto the floor.

"You all look very tired," Nurse Joy observed. "Please, sit down in the lounge over there. The fire's already burning and I'll bring you all some hot cups of cocoa. Do any of your Pokémon need a rest?"

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash said gratefully. He looked at Pikachu. "Pikachu might be feeling a little cold after all that, maybe you could check up on him?" He held Pikachu out to the pink haired nurse.

"Take my Piplup as well, please." Dawn set the small blue penguin Pokémon on the floor.

"Alright. I'll be back shortly." Nurse Joy quickly walked away with the two Pokémon, leaving the trio alone. They walked into the lounge and threw themselves upon a comfortable looking couch, sighing blissfully as they felt the warmth of the blazing fire in the fireplace spreading through the room.

"It sure took us a long time to get here, didn't it?" Ash stretched his arms and yawned. "Now that we're here, I just can't wait to go to the gym and get my next badge."

"Let's have a rest first though." Brock sank further into the cushions. "I was so exhausted, I didn't even have the energy to start flirting with Nurse Joy back there."

"Wow, you must be really tired," Dawn said in amazement.

Nurse Joy soon came into the lounge holding a tray laden with mugs of steaming cocoa, which they gratefully took. They spent the next few minutes quietly sipping away at the mugs and savouring the hot, sweet brown liquid while the fire warmed them. Once their mugs were empty, they were feeling much more energised and ready to take another trip outside after their well-earned rest. They left the lounge and returned to the lobby where Nurse Joy was.

"Nurse Joy, are Pikachu and Piplup doing alright?" Ash enquired as they approached the desk. "We thought we would take them outside with us."

"Oh yes, they are absolutely fine. They are resting back there, but I can bring them out now," Nurse Joy responded.

"Yes, please do," Dawn spoke. Nurse Joy nodded and left, coming back with Pikachu and Piplup who happily greeted their trainers.

"You ready to go out again?" Ash asked as he held Pikachu. Pikachu eagerly nodded in response.

"Nurse Joy, you are the warmth that everybody needs in a cold and snowy city like this, especially me!" Brock was now holding Nurse Joy's hands and smiling at her as she blinked back in stupefaction. "I would happily be with you so that you can keep my heart warm forever." He suddenly went still as Croagunk appeared from its Poké Ball and slammed a glowing purple hand into his backside. "Ugh. I feel numb," he moaned, crashing to the floor. Croagunk took hold of his arm and silently dragged him away.

"It looks like Brock got his energy back," Dawn observed, smiling awkwardly.

"Alright, let's go!" Ash approached the door. "Maybe I'll even get to meet the gym leader while we're out." He stepped through the door, Dawn coming after him. Brock followed after them a few seconds later once he had recovered from Croagunk's swift punishment.

As the three walked through the city, Pikachu and Piplup scampered on ahead of them, scooping up snow and hurling it at each other as they started playing.

"Hey, why don't we send out our Pokémon and let them have some fun?" Dawn suggested as she watched the two of them play. "They don't get to play in the snow very often."

"That's a good idea. I don't see why we can't let them do that for a little while," Ash agreed.

"Indeed, it would be good to let them play and have some exercise," Brock added.

Everyone hurled their Poké Balls into the air, calling for their Pokémon to come out. They all appeared before them, looking around in earnest at all the snow.

"Okay, everyone. you can go and play in the snow for a while," Ash told them. "So go and have fun, okay? Just don't take too long."

"Be careful and come back if you're getting too cold, okay?" Dawn advised the Pokémon.

"They look happy to be out in the snow," Brock observed, as the Pokémon scattered and started engaging in various antics. "So, are you going to look for the gym, Ash?"

"Uh huh." Ash nodded. He continued walking and looking around, while Brock and Dawn followed him. "I wonder where it is."

As the trio walked away, Pikachu and Piplup ran off in a different direction, still engaged in their playing. They failed to notice the steep snow bank ahead of them as they ran along and found themselves pitching forward, crashing into the snow a few feet beneath. The impact left them stunned, but unhurt.

"Pikachu," Pikachu muttered, shaking snow out of his yellow fur. "Pika pika." He looked up the snow bank that they had fallen down and let out a small sigh. It was going to be difficult to climb back up.

"Pip, pip," Piplup said in a confident voice, taking a few steps back and then running at the slope. Pikachu watched on as Piplup managed to take a few steps up the slope only to slip and roll back down, landing on its back and staring up at the sky with a stunned expression. "Piplup," it chirped dismally.

"Pika, pikachu." Pikachu pointed in the direction he believed Ash and the others had gone, turning and walking off. Piplup tiredly got to its feet and followed. None of them noticed the figure far behind them quietly slipping into the nearby trees.

After about a minute of walking and trying to find an easy way to get up the bank, Pikachu suddenly stopped and his ears twitched as he heard what sounded like a familiar voice. As he listened intently, he realised the voice was calling his name. "Pika?" Pikachu curiously looked around, hearing the voice again. It was coming from the direction of the trees near them.

"Pikachu!" the voice called again. "Where are you?"

"Pikapi?" Pikachu blinked as he recognised what sounded like Ash's voice. A puzzled frown appeared on his face as he approached the trees. He was sure Ash and the others were supposed to be in the opposite direction.

"Piplup?" Piplup tilited its head in confusion.

"Hey, Pikachu!" The voice came again, sounding even more urgent.

If the voice sounded so much like his trainer, it probably had to be. Pikachu took off into the trees, running toward the sound. Piplup remained where it was, deciding to wait until they came out. Pikachu soon caught sight of a familiar figure and quickened his pace, happily running up to the person who resembled his trainer.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu exclaimed as he reached him.

"Hey, Pikachu." The dark-haired boy knelt down before him and smiled. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"Pi?" Pikachu sniffed at him, an eyebrow raised. Something seemed different about his trainer but he couldn't quite figure it out. Could it be possible that the person standing before him actually wasn't Ash? "Chu," he spoke in a low voice, backing away and flattening his ears cautiously.

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy to fool you." Reed's smile widened and he suddenly reached for the sack he had on the ground behind him. Pikachu looked up in surprise as the sack was thrown over him and he found himself being shoved into it before he could even react. Reed quickly picked up the rope and used it to tie the sack quickly as Pikachu flailed around desperately.

"Pika....chuuuuu!" Pikachu released a massive shock that didn't even do anything to the thick material that the sack was made of.

"Nice try." Reed smirked as he heard the crackling electricity. "That won't work." He slung the wriggling sack over his shoulder and quickly hurried off with a triumphant smile on his face. So far, things were going according to plan.

Piplup was still waiting patiently by the slope when it heard Dawn's voice calling for it. It turned around and called out its name as loudly as it could. Eventually, Dawn appeared at the top of the slope and looked down toward her Pokémon with a puzzled look.

"There you are, Piplup. Are you having trouble getting up?" Dawn asked. She slid down the snowy slope and reached down to scoop up Piplup in her arms. "We're going to go back to the Pokémon Center now."

"So you've found Piplup?" Ash's voice came from the top of the slope. Dawn turned to see him and Brock standing there. "I wonder where Pikachu got to?"

"Pip!" Piplup exclaimed in surprise. Hadn't Pikachu just gone into the trees when it heard its trainer's voice? How come he was standing there on the slope while Pikachu wasn't even with him? "Piplup pip." Piplup turned its head to look toward the trees and pointed.

"Huh? Are you saying Pikachu went that way?" Dawn asked. Piplup nodded.

"I wonder why Pikachu went off by itself," Brock mused. "It didn't come back?"

"Pikachu!" Ash had already slid down the slope and was now heading toward the trees. He disappeared into them, calling for Pikachu while Brock and Dawn waited for him to return. Ten minutes later, the downcast young boy returned with a puzzled look on his face. "Pikachu isn't there. I can't find it anywhere."

"Then let's keep looking for it," Dawn said. "I'm sure it can't have gone too far."

Ash, Dawn and Brock wandered around the snowy city, calling out for Pikachu and finding no sign of the electric mouse Pokémon anywhere. Right as they came onto the path leading out of the city, the ground gave way beneath them and they fell into a hole.

"Ow! What is this?" Dawn rubbed her backside and moaned.

"I think I've got a good idea who." Ash gritted his teeth as he scrambled to his feet, looking annoyed.

"Yeah, it's pretty clear what's going on." Brock frowned.

Familiar laughter could be heard just beyond the hole. The trio looked up toward the sky above them, seeing three figures appear on the rim of the hole. As expected, it was a woman with long hair, a man with short hair and a feline Pokémon standing between them.

"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted. Immediately, the three Pokémon thieves launched into their motto and he quietly sighed. "I'm really not in the mood for your motto right now." However, they carried on anyway, paying no heed to him.

Once the motto was over, Meowth grinned at the trio. "We're going back to basics here and trying the good old pitfall plan. Now you're all snowed in!" He chuckled.

"You stole Pikachu and then dug us a trap?" Dawn frowned. "Shouldn't it be the other way round?"

"Give me back Pikachu!" Ash shouted angrily.

"No, you give us Pikachu!" James shouted back, then blinked in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"Are you in so much of a hurry that you're going to demand Pikachu back before we've even got round to stealing it?" Jessie snapped. "Impatient twerps these days."

"What are you talking about? Haven't you got Pikachu?" Brock asked.

"Of course they have Pikachu! Who else would?" Ash clenched a fist. "Team Rocket are the ones always trying to steal Pikachu."

"I don't know, Ash." Dawn looked perplexed. "Team Rocket seems pretty confused."

"I think I know what's going on here." Meowth smiled slyly. "You've lost Pikachu, right?"

"You don't have Pikachu?" Ash asked in a quieter voice, his eyes widening. Then where was Pikachu and why had he just disappeared? "But Pikachu couldn't just have got lost. We've looked everywhere for it."

"We'll just have to find Pikachu before the twerps do," Jessie spoke up, smiling deviously. "Let's stop wasting time and go and look for it."

"Nice idea, Jessie." James spoke. "We'll find that Pikachu before you, twerps!" he added, glancing at the hole. The three thieves then turned and ran off in pursuit of the missing Pikachu.

Ash, Dawn and Brock scrambled out of the hole and hurried back into the city. Team Rocket had already disappeared and still there was no sign of Pikachu anywhere as far as they could see. Ash sighed and hung his head, looking worried.

"I don't understand," Ash whispered. "Team Rocket didn't take Pikachu. It's like Pikachu just disappeared, but how? Where is Pikachu?" He turned around to look at Brock and Dawn with a desolate expression. "I don't have any idea where it could be."

"It's okay, Ash, we'll find it," Brock said in a reassuring voice. "The most important thing is to keep calm and not worry too much. Pikachu has got to be somewhere."

They continued searching, even over areas where they had already looked and asking around if anybody had seen Pikachu, but still they found no sign of it anywhere or heard of anyone seeing it. The sky was growing dark now and it was getting difficult to see. They had to return to the Pokémon Center before it was too late, even though Ash would have been willing to keep searching all night for his companion.

"Ash, you're back." Nurse Joy greeted the trio as they came inside, covered in snow. "Somebody came by a while ago with something for you."

"Is it Pikachu?" Ash asked hopefully, his eyes lighting up.

Nurse Joy shook her head and reached into her pocket, producing a sheet of paper which she handed over to Ash. "I don't know who it was. They just gave me the note and asked me to give it to you."

Ash curiously opened the note and read the scribbled handwriting upon it. Then time seemed to stand still.

&lt;!-- end story --&gt;


	7. Chapter 7

**Mirror Image**

* * *

_I have your Pikachu. If you want it back safely, do exactly as I ask of you. Come up Mt. Coronet tomorrow morning, alone. Do not seek me before then or bring anybody else with you, otherwise your Pikachu shall be harmed._

Who had written that note? What kind of person could have abducted Pikachu and even gone so far as to threaten its life? It just wasn't something that Team Rocket would have done and Ash was at a loss to figure out who it was from. He had wanted to run back out of the Pokémon Center and try to find whoever had kidnapped Pikachu, but he couldn't. He wanted Pikachu to stay safe.

Ash could barely sleep that night, as he was sick with worry over Pikachu. He couldn't stop thinking about it, lost and alone while some crazy kidnapper was holding it hostage, and he was missing it terribly. When he woke up in the morning, the sun had barely risen and he was the first one to wake up. Brock and Dawn were still fast asleep in their beds. The young Pokémon trainer quietly slipped out of bed and got dressed, grabbing his bag and leaving the room. Since it was morning now, he was going to do as the note had said and go up Mt. Coronet.

If he did exactly as the note had said, then surely he would have Pikachu back safe and sound very soon. Ash hurried out of the Pokémon Center, making his way through the city in the direction of the snow covered mountain. The snow was falling softly and for that he was glad, a blizzard would only have served to slow him down. He needed to hurry up that mountain and save Pikachu before anything could happen to it. Ash couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to his dearest friend.

It had occurred to him that this could easily be a trap, but he honestly didn't care. He was willing to do whatever it took to get Pikachu back and he wasn't afraid of what would happen. Ash considered himself well prepared to deal with any threat, having dealt with Team Rocket on a daily basis, not to mention the various Pokémon poachers he had met on his journey. Whoever it was, they likely weren't any more of a threat than whom he had already dealt with and he wasn't worried about it. He would find them, punish them for what they had done and get Pikachu back.

About an hour later, Ash reached the base of the snow covered path that led right up the mountain. He stood still to catch his breath for a moment and looked up toward the peak towering above his head. His body was already starting to feel tired after that long walk through the snow, especially when he hadn't even eaten any breakfast this morning, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

"Pikachu." Ash set his jaw in determination, his eyes narrowing. "Don't worry, I'm coming to save you. I'll be there soon." He started walking up the steep, snow covered path while the snow swirled crazily around him, clinging to his clothes. His stomach was aching with hunger, his legs were tiring from the effort and the cold air was making his eyes water, but none of that bothered him. What really mattered was getting to the top and saving Pikachu.

After what seemed like an eternity, he had finally managed to reach the top of the mountain. All he could see was a vast expanse of snow, blotted with trees and rocky structures. Ash wiped his teary eyes and blinked rapidly, letting out a long sigh. He was glad to have made it here at last and now he was so much closer to finding Pikachu and the creep who had taken him away. The trainer plucked a Poké Ball from his waist and threw it into the air. It opened up and a flash of white light poured out, taking the form of Staraptor. The large black bird Pokémon flapped its wings and looked curiously at Ash, waiting for its order.

"Staraptor, help me look for Pikachu," Ash requested. Staraptor whirled around and flapped off into the distance, calling out its name as it swooped through the air. As it disappeared into the distance, Ash sat down upon a flat rock to rest his tired body and gazed up at the cloudy sky with a worried expression. He couldn't understand why this was happening and who could possibly be doing this. This entire experience was disturbing and he couldn't help but feel just a little bit worried. This didn't really seem like the work of some average Pokémon poacher. They usually just grabbed the Pokémon and left, didn't they? Why go to the trouble of sending him a note? It was all so confusing and it made his head spin. Ash had a very bad feeling about this situation, knowing that something just wasn't right, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He needed to save Pikachu, no matter what the cost was, and he would never abandon his Pokémon in a time of need.

It wasn't long before Staraptor returned, loudly cawing for his attention. Ash quickly got up and ran toward it, looking hopeful. "Have you found Pikachu?" he called out. Staraptor nodded and circled around, flying off in the distance. Ash took off after it, following it to a rocky clearing where he soon caught sight of a cage placed upon a tall slab of stone. Within the cage was a shivering Pikachu, clinging to the bars with a forlorn expression on his face.

"Thanks, Staraptor." Ash quickly held out the Poké Ball and recalled his Pokémon, running over to the cage. "Pikachu!" He put his hands against the bars, looking at Pikachu with a happy smile. "I'm glad I finally found you. Don't worry, I'll get you out of there."

"Pikapi?" Pikachu backed away and shook his head, looking horrified. "Chu! Pikapi, pika kachu!" He knew well enough this was a trap and his trainer had just run right into it. Of course he was glad to see Ash again, but he didn't want him to get hurt.

"What's wrong, Pikachu? It's okay, I'm going to save you now." Ash examined the cage, finding that it had a door secured with a padlock. When he tried pulling at it, it didn't even come apart. "Okay then, I'll just have to..."

Ash suddenly froze as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He had a feeling that someone was right behind him. When he saw Pikachu waving one arm and pointing frantically while speaking rapidly, he knew his instincts were right. The Pokémon trainer immediately straightened and was about to turn around to see just who was there, when something hard and heavy struck him directly in the back of the head.

Pain exploded where he had been struck and he tottered forward, stars flashing before his eyes. Ash let out a quiet moan, his eyes rolling to the top of his head as he passed out. Pikachu watched on with a shocked expression as Ash toppled over onto the snow, closing his eyes.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu wailed, clinging to the bars of the cage. His trainer was in terrible danger, he knew that much, and he couldn't even do a thing to save him.

"Well, that was easy." Reed approached Ash, smiling in satisfaction. So far, everything was going well. "This is a piece of cake." He knelt down next to the unconscious boy and began removing his clothes.

Pikachu could only watch on in horror, wondering what exactly was happening. He barely understood what was going on. Who was this person who looked so much like his Pikapi yet wasn't him at all, and why was he taking off his clothes? Why did he even look so much like him for that matter? "Chu..." the mouse Pokémon whispered disconsolately, leaning against the bars.

Once he was done undressing Ash, Reed hurriedly removed his own clothes and began to change into Ash's garments. It was so cold that he was shivering violently while switching outfits, but he didn't let that bother him. It would all be worth it in the end. Eventually, he was entirely clad in Ash's clothing and had dressed Ash up in the clothes that he had previously worn. Reed got to his feet, looking happy at his handiwork.

"Just one more thing to do." Reed leaned down and scooped up Ash's body in his arms. Ignoring Pikachu's frantic cries for his trainer, he carried Ash toward the nearby cliff and gazed down the side of Mt. Coronet. It was a long way down and the ground below was covered with snow and trees. Reed glanced down at Ash's peaceful face. "Nobody's going to be grieving for you, Ash," Reed said in a soft voice. "I'll be taking your place after all. Look at it this way, at least you had a happy life. I didn't, but surely I will now, as you."

At that moment, Ash began to regain consciousness, letting out a breathy moan and shuddering. "Pikachu?" he whispered, his eyelashes fluttering.

"Pikachu? Is that all you think about?" Reed asked derisively, his lips curling in a sneer. "It really is special to you, isn't it?"

Ash's eyes flew open in shock and he stared up into the face that matched his own. He didn't even notice that the person was now wearing his clothes, just the fact that he had his exact face. "What...?" he whispered in a shocked voice, his eyes widening.

How come this person looked just like him? Ash was pretty sure he didn't have a secret twin brother, and his mother would surely have mentioned something if he did. Then, why did this person look just like him?

"Nice to meet you at last, Ash." Reed smiled. "Sorry but our meeting is going to have to be cut short."

With that said, he sharply flung Ash over the edge of the cliff and watched him plummet, disappearing into the mass of snow as he fell. Ash had no time to even scream as he fell. He was just too confused to understand what was going on and hadn't been prepared for what was about to happen.

"PIKAPI!" Pikachu screamed, his eyes filling up with tears.

Reed walked back, smiling as he gazed at the horrified mouse Pokémon. "It's too bad, isn't it? Your beloved trainer is gone and I'm going to be taking his place."

"Pika!" Pikachu gritted his teeth and glared at Reed, his eyes full of hatred. "Pikachu pika!"

"I know that you don't go into a Poké Ball, but you must surely have one." Reed had only taken five Poké Balls off Ash and he figured there had to be a sixth one for Pikachu somewhere. He knelt down and unzipped Ash's bag, rummaging in it. Soon, he found a Poké Ball that had a lightning bolt on it and extracted it. "You have a choice. Do you want to be left to freeze out here in that cage or get into this Poké Ball?" Reed asked, approaching Pikachu's cage.

"Chu." Pikachu lowered his ears. With Ash gone, he felt that he honestly didn't even care what happened to himself. Neither option sounded particularly pleasant but he didn't want to be left out here in the cold, all alone in this miserable cage. Even being trapped in that fearsome prison that was his Poké Ball seemed better than this.

"I can't run the risk of you blowing my cover." Reed stood before the cage, holding out the Poké Ball. "Which one will it be?"

Pikachu hesitantly raised a paw, pointing it at the dreaded red and white object. "Pika," he spoke in a small voice.

"Sensible choice." Reed withdrew the key for the padlock and unlocked it, pulling open the cage door. Pikachu reluctantly sat there as Reed raised the Poké Ball again, the red beam coming out and striking the yellow Pokémon. Pikachu was pulled into the Poké Ball, letting off a few sparks out of fear. Reed replaced the Poké Ball in his bag and placed his own things in there, picking up the bag and turning away from the empty cage.

A smile slowly spread across Reed's face. It was time to begin his new life, as Ash Ketchum.


	8. Chapter 8

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Dawn crossed her arms across her chest and shivered as a gust of cold wind blew past her, biting her bottom lip. It was well past lunchtime now and still there was no sign of Ash, giving her cause to worry. She glanced at Brock, who also seemed just as worried as she was.

"How could Ash have just gone off without saying a word?" Dawn shook her head. "He could at least have let us know he was leaving."

"The note said to go alone, didn't it? Ash would do anything to ensure Pikachu's safety, so I can understand why." Brock frowned intently. "He must have left quite early this morning and it's not an easy trek up Mt. Coronet."

"Hmm." Dawn lowered her head and exhaled heavily. She hoped that Ash would return soon. "I sure hope that he's okay, and Pikachu as well."

"Ash will be fine," Brock assured her. "I'm sure he'll be back any moment now, with Pikachu. I just wonder who would have done such a thing." The whole situation struck him as odd. Somebody had captured Pikachu and gone to the trouble of leaving a note for Ash. Why had they wished for him to go alone and what was it that they wanted?

"We don't even know who took Pikachu. For all we know, Ash walked right into a trap." Dawn swallowed a lump in her throat. "Don't you think that it's kind of suspicious that they wanted him to go on his own? We should have gone with him."

"You know he wouldn't have let us," Brock said gently. "Just relax, Dawn. Ash can handle pretty much anything that's thrown at him and I know he'll be back sooner or later. Why don't we go back to the Pokémon Center and wait for him there?"

Dawn nodded her head slightly and was about to turn around when she caught sight of someone wearing a red cap and a blue jacket in the distance, slowly walking toward them. "Look, there he is!"

Brock and Dawn hurried over toward the person they believed was Ash himself, noticing immediately that Pikachu was not present and the young boy was staring down at his feet. Something was definitely wrong here.

"Ash," Dawn spoke softly. "Didn't you find Pikachu?"

"What happened?" Brock asked in a concerned tone.

Reed felt a small rush of excitement, along with a little nervousness. He was looking forward to this charade as Ash, taking over his life and casting away his old one that had been full of misery and suffering. However, he knew that he was going to have to be very careful not to tip them off that something wasn't right. Weeks had been spent preparing for this and he couldn't afford to let it all be ruined.

As Reed continued to stare at the ground, he let out a loud sniff. "Pikachu..." he whispered in a faint voice. "Pikachu is..."

Brock and Dawn exchanged worried glances. Clearly, something was very wrong here. They turned their stares back to Reed, waiting for him to finish what he was trying to say.

"Pikachu's gone!" Reed cried out, following his cry with loud sobs that he hoped were convincing enough to fool the two.

"No... that can't be." Dawn put a hand over her mouth, her face paling. She wasn't exactly sure what he meant by Pikachu being gone, but it was obviously very bad.

"Ash..." Brock placed a hand upon Reed's shoulder. "Tell us what happened," he said gently. Clearly, the boy was traumatised right now, but they needed answers to understand what he was talking about.

Reed reached up and made a rubbing motion across his eyes with his arm, letting out another loud sniff. "I went... just like the note told me to, alone... all the way up the mountain. There was nobody there, but I knew Pikachu was gone... forever."

"Forever?" Brock repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Are you sure? Maybe-"

"There was blood, everywhere," Reed continued speaking in the weakest voice he could manage. It was difficult to act like he was devastated over the loss of a close friend, but he hoped he was doing a good enough job.

"Blood?" Dawn whispered, her eyes growing wide.

"It wasn't Pikachu's, was it?" Brock asked, dreading the response. How could it be possible? Why would anybody want to harm Pikachu, let alone do the unthinkable to it?

"There was fur..." Reed swallowed heavily. "Mixed in with the blood... I couldn't find Pikachu, but... I knew it... Pikachu's dead!"

"No!" Dawn exclaimed, her eyes welling up with tears. "Not Pikachu... it can't be..." She couldn't believe that the cute little mouse Pokémon could possibly have suffered such an awful fate. How could anyone harm it in the first place?

Brock let go of Reed, feeling stunned. His head was spinning and he couldn't find any words to say. This all seemed like a horrible dream. "I can't believe it," he said finally, slowly shaking his head. "Who could have done it?"

"Why did they go to the trouble of sending a note only to..." Dawn's voice trailed off as it broke. A tear slid down her cheek. She had been quite attached to Pikachu and the thought of it being dead all but broke her heart.

"I don't know," Reed spoke in a cold, hard voice. "All I know is that my buddy is dead." He didn't want to continue this pointless conversation any longer and made it clear by walking past Brock and Dawn, slumping his shoulders and heading in the direction of the Pokémon Center. A faint smile graced his lips. So far, it seemed that things were going well. They hadn't yet realised that he was a fake.

"Ash..." Dawn was about to follow, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked over her shoulder at Brock, who shook his head.

"I think Ash needs to be alone right now," Brock said. Dawn looked back toward Reed and sighed. She wanted to comfort her friend, but what could she possibly say to someone who had supposedly lost their closest friend in the world?

Nurse Joy was standing before her desk, tapping away at the computer, when she heard the door opened and looked up to see Reed step into the Pokémon Center. "Oh, hello, Ash," she spoke. "Did you manage to get your Pikachu back?" She didn't see him anywhere, but of course she was unaware of Pikachu's hatred for Poké Balls and did not think it strange.

"Uh..." Reed stopped and stared at the floor, feigning upset once more. "No."

"Oh. What happened?" Nurse Joy looked at him anxiously. It was bad enough that a Pokémon had been kidnapped. Why would anybody even want to do such a thing?

"I don't really want to talk about it..." Reed murmured, trying his best to sound dazed. He looked around the lobby with a vague stare. "I just want to go to my room."

"Alright then. You remember where your room is, don't you?" Nurse Joy enquired. Reed gave her a hopeless look. He didn't know where the room was, but he was sure Nurse Joy would fall for his act. "It's okay, I know which room you're in. I'll show you."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Reed said faintly, following Nurse Joy into the connecting hallway. They stopped outside a door, which she opened for him.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" Nurse Joy asked, to which he shook his head. "Alright then." She watched as Reed stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, sighing. How unfortunate it was that he hadn't been able to reunite with Pikachu after all, she thought, walking back to the lobby.

Reed listened for the sound of Nurse Joy walking away and locked the door behind him. He didn't want any interruptions right now. The boy looked around the bedroom with a smile on his face. This had all been ridiculously easy so far, but he couldn't relax yet. He would have to remain careful, knowing he couldn't afford to slip up even once.

He reached for the Poké Ball contained within his pocket and pressed the button, enlarging it. When he pressed it again, it opened up and white light flowed out, hitting the floor and taking on the form of a four legged yellow Pokémon with spiked fur and a white ruff.

It was his own Eevee, whom he had evolved with a Thunderstone that he had been lucky enough to buy from a vendor selling evolutionary stones. After seeing Ash's Pikachu in action, Reed had decided he wanted to have an electric Pokémon of his own and evolving his Eevee was the obvious choice.

"Hey, Jolteon." Reed knelt before it and reached out to rub his head. Jolteon made a pleasant sound in its throat as he did so and reached out to nuzzle his face. "I know it can't be too fun for you, being stuck inside the Poké Ball all the time."

"Jolt..." Jolteon shook its head dismissively.

"Well, okay. I'm glad it doesn't bother you too much." Reed smiled. "But we're just going to have to wait a little bit longer, before I can let you out again. I just have to get some things sorted out first, and then we can go back to battling and doing all those other things we enjoy. Life is going to be a lot better now, I promise."

"Eon?" Jolteon tilted its head. It didn't understand what Reed meant by life getting a lot better. As far as it was concerned, life was just fine already. It was happy enough to be with him.

"I guess you don't really understand yet. It's okay." Reed patted its golden head. "Just wait and see." He remained with Jolteon for a few minutes longer, talking and petting it, until he eventually recalled it into its Poké Ball. Then he unlocked the door and went to lie down on his bed, staring up at the bottom of the top bunk,

Some time later, the door opened and Brock and Dawn came into the room. Reed sat up, greeting them with a stony stare.

"There you are, Ash. We were worried about you," said Dawn.

"I want to leave," Reed spoke.

A long silence followed, as Brock and Dawn stared at him. That wasn't exactly what they had been expecting to hear.

"I can't stay in this place any longer," Reed spoke in a quavering voice, lowering his head. "Not where someone kidnapped Pikachu and..." He bit down on his bottom lip.

"Alright, I understand." Brock nodded his head once. "So when you want to go?"

"As soon as possible," the dark-haired boy responded faintly.

Dawn watched him with a concerned look, her eyes wobbling. "Ash..." she whispered, clenching her fists. If only there was something she could do. She wanted so badly to help him, but she couldn't even think of a way.


	9. Chapter 9

**Mirror Image**

* * *

The Meowth shaped balloon slowly drifted past the side of Mt. Coronet, which was tinted yellow in the light of the setting sun. Three weary passengers looked out over the side of the basket, listlessly holding up binoculars.

"This is going nowhere," Meowth complained, lowering his binoculars and letting out a sigh. "We're never going to find dat Pikachu at this rate. Why don't we just call it a night?"

"What if the twerp's managed to get it back by now?" James looked up. "Maybe that's why we're having so much trouble finding it. We're looking in the wrong place."

"Well, he didn't have it with him this morning," Jessie recalled, scanning the snowy ground below and not finding a single moving object. "Come to think of it, something about this morning was strange."

"Yeah, what was the twerp doing off by himself? He was looking pretty bummed too." James rested his chin on one hand, the binoculars dangling from the other.

"Of course he would be looking pretty bummed! He didn't have Pikachu with him!" Jessie snapped, annoyed at James for stating the obvious. They had simply seen Ash on his way to Mt. Coronet while they were eating an early morning breakfast, noticed that he was without Pikachu, and had hurried off to resume their searching. "Where could that annoying rat have got to?" She ground her teeth in frustration.

A loud rumble sounded throughout the silence that followed. Jessie and James turned their heads to look at Meowth accusingly. The feline Pokémon smiled in embarrassment and clutched his stomach with his paws.

"Any chance we can stop for dinner soon?" Meowth asked. "I'm getting a little peckish."

"All this searching is making me hungry too," James added.

"Fine. Even I cannot ignore the pangs of hunger growing inside me." Jessie put down her binoculars. "That darn Pikachu. Why can't we find it?"

The balloon lowered itself down until it came to rest among the trees, way at the base of the mountain. Jessie, James and Meowth hopped out of the basket and started to make preparations for their longed for meal.

They had only just spread a blanket out over the snow to sit on when a Sneasel came running up to them, speaking its name rapidly and waving its arms. It made frantic gestures toward the cliff, glancing over its shoulder.

"What is the matter with that Pokémon?" Jessie asked in annoyance, throwing a glare at it. "Can't it see we're about to eat? Hey, get lost, will you?" she asked, waving her hand at the Sneasel in a dismissive manner. The Sneasel ignored her and kept talking frantically.

James set down the container of rice balls on the ground, eying the Sneasel critically. "It looks like it's trying to tell us something, whatever it is." He turned his green eyes on Meowth. "Hey, Meowth, would you mind translating?"

"Sure thing." Meowth approached the Sneasel. "Hey, slow down a bit, will ya?" He listened attentively as the Sneasel spoke again, though slower this time, and nodded, folding his arms across his chest. "I see."

Jessie and James clustered around Meowth, their eyes wide with curiosity.

"Well, Meowth?" Jessie asked impatiently.

"Sneasel here is telling me that some kid took a tumble down the mountain this morning," Meowth responded. "Some of the Pokémon have been keeping him warm and tending to him while waiting for help to come, and it looks like we're the first ones to come this way."

"Somebody fell down the mountain, did they?" James shook his head. "Well, that sure was careless of them." He looked up toward the towering peak of Mt. Coronet, far above their head. "If the whole place wasn't covered in snow, he might have been a lot less lucky. A fall like that might have killed him otherwise."

"So, you want us to go and help some kid?" Jessie looked at the Sneasel. "We're Team Rocket and we're bad guys. We don't go around helping people for nothing. Now let us get back to our dinner."

"Hey, come on, Jessie." James looked at her reproachfully. "It wouldn't hurt to help somebody out. Who knows if anybody else is going to come this way? That kid might really need our help."

"Yeah, I'm with Jimmy on this one," Meowth agreed. "It sounds pretty serious. Some poor kid's stranded in the middle of nowhere and we can't just ignore it. Hey, maybe we can even steal his Pokémon off him afterwards."

"Well, alright then," Jessie said reluctantly, placing her hands on her hips. It was two against one, and it wouldn't really hurt them to help someone. "Give us a minute and then we'll go with you," she said to the Sneasel.

After the food and the blanket had been safely put back in the balloon, the three Team Rocket members followed the Sneasel through the trees until they came to the side of the cliff and saw a large opening. The Sneasel beckoned them once more and then disappeared into the cave. Jessie, James and Meowth approached the mouth of the cave, peering in. It wasn't entirely dark within, as a few torches lit up up the tunnel ahead. The trio entered the cave and set off after the Sneasel.

As they walked further along the cave, they could hear the sounds of some Pokémon in the distance. It sounded as if they were having a conversation and the trio could just make out Sneasel's voice among the others. Eventually, they found their way to the end of the tunnel and saw a cluster of Pokémon gathered around someone.

Sneasel spoke again and then the Pokémon moved away, revealing the figure who lay huddled on the ground with his arms wrapped around himself and his legs pulled up to his chest. Jessie, James and Meowth stepped closer, getting a better look the person and then they all gasped as they realised who it was.

"That's the twerp!" James exclaimed, as they stared at the dark-haired boy.

"Eh? All along it was the twerp himself?" Meowth blinked. "Well, I sure did not see dat one coming."

"Great. We just delayed our dinner to help out the twerp." Jessie seemed fairly unimpressed with the way things had turned out. "And he still doesn't have Pikachu with him."

At the sound of their raised voices, Ash began to stir, letting out a faint moan. His eyes fluttered open and he turned his head, looking toward the two people and a Meowth standing over him. He pushed his body up with his arms until he was sitting. "Are you going to help me?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

"Help you?" Jessie exclaimed, looking incredulous. "Why would we want to help you? All we want to do is find your Pikachu."

"Pikachu?" Ash repeated, his brow furrowing. The name sounded very familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. He felt like he knew these people as well, but he couldn't quite remember who they were.

"Hello? Pikachu? We've been trying to get it since like forever?" James crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. He could tell that something wasn't quite right with Ash. "What is the matter with him?"

"Did you hit your head or something?" Meowth stared at Ash in disbelief.

Ash subconsciously reached up to touch the back of his head, wincing slightly. "Um. I guess so," he mumbled. "I can't remember how I did that. But it really hurts."

Jessie, James and Meowth silently stared at Ash, then turned to look at each other with their mouths hanging open in shock. Now they knew that something really was wrong here.

"Could it be..." James swallowed. "The twerp's got amnesia?"

Jessie knelt before Ash. "Do you know who we are?"

Ash's response was to frown uncertainly. "I'm not sure," he murmured.

"It sure looks like amnesia alright," Meowth said. "He doesn't even seem to realise who we are."

"Okay then. What about your name?" Jessie asked. "Do you at least remember that?"

"Um..." Ash scrunched up his face, thinking as hard as he could. "It's... Ash, right?" he spoke finally. That name had just come to him and it sounded like the right option.

"Alright, it doesn't seem to be too bad." Jessie stood up. "I think he'll recover from it eventually." She looked toward her teammates. "What do we do now? I don't think we can just leave him here, even if he's the twerp."

"Yeah, not when he's in that state," Meowth agreed. "It just don't seem right to abandon him when he's so helpless. I bet those other twerps must be really worried about him. They probably have no idea where he's got to."

"Let's just take him back to Snowpoint City," James said. "If we drop him off at the Pokémon Center, it should be okay." He fell silent, looking at Ash curiously. "I wonder how he even managed to fall off the mountain in the first place. What was he doing alone?"

"You don't know, do you?" Meowth asked Ash, who returned his gaze with a blank stare. "It's a pretty strange place for you to go off all by yourself, isn't it? Well, don't worry, we'll get you back to Snowpoint City now."

"Alright." Ash attempted to move, only to stop and grimace as pain shot through his body. "Ugh. My body still hurts."

"Well, it's no wonder. You fell down a mountain," Jessie spoke somewhat exasperatedly. "Alright, James, we'll just have to help him back to the balloon. Clearly, he's in no condition to walk."

Jessie and James helped Ash to his feet, supporting him as they walked back through the cave and to the balloon. Once everyone was inside the basket, the balloon lifted off and started drifting back in the direction of Snowpoint City.

"So, twerp." Meowth looked at Ash. "You must have had a pretty nasty fall down that mountain. I suppose you don't remember what happened?"

Ash shook his head. He really could not remember anything about the mountain or why he had been on it in the first place. His mind was a complete blur, and though he could remember the vaguest details and faces, even those were too fuzzy to remember clearly.

"It's kind of hard to believe you could just have fallen down," James commented. "Don't tell me you got careless and wandered right off the edge of Mt. Coronet."

"I really don't know," Ash said, hanging his head. This was bothering him so much. Why could he hardly remember anything at all? There was this huge chunk of his memory missing and he wanted it back. "I can't remember much at all." His voice quivered.

"Hey, don't get worked up," James said quickly. "It's just because you hit your head really hard, that's all. I'm sure you'll get your memory back soon."

Soon, the balloon had drifted within the vicinity of Snowpoint City and it dropped down in front of the Pokémon Center.

Nurse Joy looked up from her work to see two adults, a young boy and a Meowth enter. Her eyes widened as she recognised the boy. It appeared that he was in poor shape, as the two adults were having to keep him on his feet. She hurriedly came over from the desk.

"Ash, you're back?" Nurse Joy looked at Jessie and James. "I don't remember seeing you two before. What's going on? Hold on, let me get a chair for you." Before anyone could speak, she hurried away to get one of the nearby chairs and pulled it over. "There you go."

"Thanks." Ash sank down into the chair, looking relieved.

"Now, what's going on here?" Nurse Joy placed her hands on her hips and frowned. "Why weren't your other friends with you?"

"My other friends?" Ash repeated.

"Yes, that blue-haired girl and the boy who kept trying to hit on me," Nurse Joy replied. "I'm afraid I forgot their names."

"Hold on," Jessie interrupted. "Are you saying that they aren't here?"

"No. Ash and his friends left the Pokémon Center this afternoon," Nurse Joy replied. "They seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to leave. I suppose it was because of that terrible thing that happened." She looked at Ash sympathetically.

"Terrible thing?" James repeated.

"More importantly, what happened here?" Nurse Joy looked at Ash. "Where are your friends?"

"I don't know." Ash lowered his head, staring at the floor. He wasn't even sure who Nurse Joy was talking about.

"That's strange. I thought the twerps would be here." Jessie crossed her arms. "Maybe they were out there searching for him and we missed them?"

"Well, how did you end up in that state?" Nurse Joy knelt before Ash. "You look pretty rough." His clothes were torn in places and his skin was covered in scrapes and bruises. She could hardly imagine how that could have happened.

"I fell down that mountain," Ash murmured. "I don't know how. I guess I just did."

"Oh my goodness." Nurse Joy gasped. "You certainly were lucky to survive something like that. What do you mean you don't know how?"

"He's suffered memory loss," James explained. "Doesn't remember much at the moment."

"I see." Nurse Joy stood up. "Your friends must be very worried about you, Ash. I'm sure they are looking for you right now. However, you are in no shape to be going anywhere, so you can rest here." She looked at Jessie and James. "Are you his friends too?"

"Um... not exactly." James smiled awkwardly.

"It's very complicated," Jessie added. They couldn't tell Nurse Joy that they worked for an evil organisation and had been trying to steal Ash's Pikachu for years. "Sometimes we get on fine I guess, but it doesn't last long."

"Uh. Right." Nurse Joy frowned. "But you know his other friends too, don't you?" Jessie and James nodded. "Well, great. Then you can go and look for them and tell them that Ash is waiting for them here, can't you?"

Jessie and James exchanged surprised glances. They hadn't expected something like this.

"We'll see," James spoke to the pink haired nurse. "If we can find them, we'll let them know."

"Yeah. Anyway, we're leaving now," Jessie said hurriedly. "Bye."

Team Rocket hurried out of the Pokémon Center and returned to the basket, collapsing and sighing. Things seemed to be getting even more complicated now, and none of them particularly felt like searching for the so-called other twerps.

"Let's go and have dinner," Jessie said after a long moment of silence. "We'll think about it tomorrow morning."

"Maybe the other twerps have Pikachu?" James said hopefully. "It might be worth looking for them anyway, just in case."

"This is so strange. How come we never saw the twerps looking for him? That Sneasel said he fell in the morning, but Nurse Joy said they left in the afternoon," Meowth mused. "Some things just aren't adding up here. It's very confusing."

"I assumed the fall must have happened after we saw him that morning," James said. "He was heading in the direction of Mt. Coronet. He was alone then too."

"Well, Nurse Joy was probably just wrong," Jessie said, leaning against the basket and looking bored. "Can we go and eat already?"

James and Meowth were also keen on the idea, and they immediately set off, the balloon floating away from the city. Tomorrow morning, they could resume the search, but for now, they were content to eat and then get a good night's sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Reed sat on the bed alone in the room of the Pokémon Center, flipping through a small address book filled with phone numbers. He had found it while looking through Ash's bag and was curious to see what it contained. Ash certainly had a lot of friends, it seemed, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. If only he could be as popular as Ash... of course he could be now, because he was going to be Ash. A smile crossed his face at the thought.

It wouldn't be such a bad idea to make a phone call, Reed supposed. He had to start thinking like Ash and to be Ash, if he wanted to keep everyone convinced, and he knew there was one person that the boy liked to call all the time. He would certainly call him over something major like the loss of his precious Pokémon.

Reed repeated the number in his head until he was sure he had it memorized and then replaced the book in the bag, standing up and going to leave the room. Brock and Dawn were both sitting in the lobby downstairs, the former gazing at Nurse Joy while she worked and the latter watching a Pokémon contest on television. They both looked up at his entrance.

"Ash, are you alright?" Dawn asked.

"I'm going to call Professor Oak," Reed spoke, coming to a stop. "I really need to talk to him right now."

"Oh, you're going to tell him?" Brock stood up. "About Pikachu?"

Reed silently nodded, walking over to the phones. He could hear Brock and Dawn following. Apparently, they wanted to listen in on the phone call and he honestly didn't care if they listened or not, so he just ignored them. When he approached one of the phones, he lifted the handset and paused for a moment, recalling the number, before tapping it in.

The phone on the other side rang for a few seconds until it was picked up and the video screen flickered into life, revealing the face of a gray haired man in a lab coat. Reed was relieved to see that he hadn't misremembered the number. It might have seemed suspicious to the two standing behind him right now had he messed up.

"Well, hello, Ash," Professor Oak greeted him with a broad smile. "Have you got something good to tell me?"

"Professor Oak..." Reed paused, allowing for a moment of silence, before he spoke again with his voice lowered. "It's not good news." He stared down at his feet and swallowed heavily.

Professor Oak gazed at him with a serious expression, his eyes flashing with concern. "What's happened?" he asked anxiously, leaning forward in his seat.

"It's about Pikachu," Reed answered, looking up toward the video screen and putting on a distraught expression. "Something terrible happened."

Professor Oak noticed then that Pikachu wasn't where it would usually be. He was used to seeing it sitting atop Ash's shoulder whenever he made his calls and it bothered him that he didn't see it now. "Was it hurt?" he asked, feeling a chill run through his body. Something was very wrong here, he could tell.

Reed shook his head. "Even worse. Someone took Pikachu, not Team Rocket, and they left me a note, telling me to come." He paused again, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "When I got there, all I found was... its blood... its fur.. I knew it. Pikachu was gone. It's dead."

Professor Oak was struck silent. He could only gape at the video screen, his face turning pale. This was even more serious than he had thought. How could it be possible that someone had taken away Ash's precious Pokémon and best friend, even going so far as to end its life? It was simply unbelievable, and he had to wonder who could be capable of doing such a thing.

"Oh my god..." Professor Oak spoke finally, putting a hand over his face and shaking his head. "How could that happen?"

"It's just so cruel," Dawn spoke in a small voice. "To think someone could have done something like this."

Professor Oak raised his head, looking at the screen once more. "You have no idea who did this, do you?" he asked.

"No. I don't know at all," Reed said, raising a fist and clenching it. "I have no idea who took my buddy away. Not even Team Rocket would have done something like this!"

"If we knew, they would already have been dealt with," Brock added, his face stony. "But we really don't know. Ash didn't see anyone there up on the mountain. All he found was... well, what he just told you."

"I see," Professor Oak said hoarsely. He could still clearly remember the day when Ash had started his journey and he had given Pikachu to him. Though it was a rough start at first, they had quickly become close friends and were inseparable. How could anybody have wanted to break them apart forever? "This is just too much." He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"I can't understand why anyone would have wanted to take Pikachu from me," Reed said in a small voice. "Who would want to do that to me? I never did anything to deserve this."

Professor Oak opened his eyes again, staring at Ash with a sympathetic expression. "It's just one thing after another, isn't it?" he said, exhaling.

"One thing after another?" Dawn echoed, her brow furrowing in confusion. She tilted her head. "What do you mean? Did something else happen?"

"Oh." The Professor sat back in his chair, looking startled. "I was just thinking of something else. It sort of involved Ash as well, though not directly." He also remembered that Delia hadn't wanted him to say anything about it. "I don't think it matters."

"Pikachu is dead," Brock reminded him. "Some cruel individual took his life. I think in a situation like this, everything matters."

"I don't think it's connected to this," Professor Oak said faintly. Though, now a small shred of doubt had planted itself in his mind. "It was just... well, an unusual thing happened, but your mother didn't want you to know about it."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Reed didn't really think he needed to know, but he figured that Ash would want to know and he had to act like him. "Please, tell me. If this has anything to do with Pikachu, then I have to know!"

"Calm down, Ash. I'll tell you." Professor Oak sat up straight. "It happened around the time you got your second badge, if I remember correctly. Your mother had a visitor and, well, there was something very strange about him."

"Something strange?" Dawn repeated, looking perplexed.

Reed went perfectly still, his eyes widening a fraction as he stared at the video screen. All of a sudden, he felt like he had walked into some kind of trap.

"Yes. According to her, this boy was the spitting image of Ash." Professor Oak fell silent, allowing time for it to sink in.

"What?" Brock and Dawn exclaimed in unison.

Reed remained silent, his mouth hanging open in shock. Now he really wished that he hadn't asked. It had certainly not been his intention to let Ash's friends know about his existence. A cold feeling swelled up in his gut and he gulped, praying that they wouldn't twig.

Of course they wouldn't, he tried to tell himself desperately. They thought that he was Ash. Why would they suddenly think he wasn't? Reed closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He couldn't panic, not now.

"He looked just like me?" Reed finally spoke, opening his eyes. "Are you serious?"

"I didn't see the boy with my own eyes," Professor Oak told him. "But your mother swore he looked just like you. She thought he was you, until you happened to call me and then she knew he wasn't you at all."

"Wait, she thought he was Ash?" Brock asked, seeming confused. "He didn't even correct her?"

"No. He had quite a lot of nerve to do something like that." Professor Oak massaged his forehead with his fingers. "I'm not sure who he really was and why he did that, but it doesn't seem like complete coincidence he happened to turn up at your house, Ash. I honestly think he might have been looking for answers."

"Answers?" Dawn repeated. "Answers to what?"

"Like why someone happened to look just like him, I suppose," Professor Oak said. "I think I would want to know why someone else had my face. What else could he have been doing there? You are somewhat well known," he said this while looking at Ash, "so it's not hard to believe he might have seen you on television or in print."

Reed remained silent, his eyes narrowing. He was certainly impressed that the Professor could have figured him out so easily. "It just seems so ridiculous," he said finally. "To think that someone out there who I have never even met could look just like me. How can that be possible?"

"Quite." Professor Oak nodded. "We never saw or heard of him again, but he was probably just a confused boy seeking out answers. I don't think he would have come all the way over to Sinnoh just to take your Pikachu and get rid of it. Why would he do that?"

"Why would anybody do that?" Dawn cut in. "It doesn't make sense."

"They went to the trouble of leaving him a note telling him to come alone as well," Brock said. "Yet, there was nobody there and Pikachu was already gone. Nothing about it makes any sense, no matter how you look at it."

"I hope the perpetrator is caught and found," Professor Oak said solemnly. "But I'm just not sure it was the strange boy. Even if he did go to Sinnoh, wouldn't he want to meet you directly? Why would he want to take Pikachu from you?"

Reed was starting to grow tired of this conversation. The more they talked about him, the more nervous he felt. "I don't know. I don't know anything at all. Pikachu's gone and nothing is going to bring him back."

Professor Oak nodded his head slightly. "Right... I'm so sorry that this had to happen, Ash."

"Yeah, me too. Goodbye, Professor," Reed said faintly. He waited for Professor Oak's response, then put down the receiver, cutting off the call.

"Wow." Brock rubbed his head. "I did not see that one coming."

"Yeah... it's bizarre, isn't it?" Dawn glanced at Reed. "What do you think about it?"

Reed turned around to face them and shrugged his shoulders half-heartedly. "I don't really care," he said abruptly. "Someone out there looks just like me. So what?"

"But, Ash, this person pretended to be you in your own home." Brock looked at him in disbelief. "And it's kind of strange that he could look just like you. Doesn't it even bother you just a little bit?"

"I kind of have bigger issues right now," Reed couldn't help snapping. He was annoyed that they couldn't just drop the subject and leave it alone. The less they talked about his existence, the better. "Like the fact that somebody killed my best friend?"

"But..." Dawn broke off as he walked past them suddenly. She watched Reed go toward the stairs and sighed. "I'm going to talk to him." How could she just let him go off alone while he was like this? The young coordinator hurried after him.

Reed stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind himself, exhaling heavily. "Great," he muttered to himself in annoyance, walking over to sit on the bed and putting his head in his hands. It hadn't been part of his plan to let those two know about his existence. Hopefully they wouldn't suspect anything.

The door opened and he looked up to see Dawn come in with her Piplup, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey." Dawn clasped her hands behind her back, walking over to look at him. "Are you okay? It must have been a bit of a shock, huh?"

Reed sighed and rested his chin in one hand, remaining silent. He did remember how shocked he had been when he read that newspaper. Ash himself had looked quite astonished when he woke up and saw his face. "Yeah," he eventually mumbled.

"I mean, it just sounds so crazy." Dawn shook her head, a faint smile tugging on her lips. "If I suddenly heard there was someone out there who looked just like me, I would feel kind of weirded out, you know? How is it even possible when you don't have an identical sibling?"

"I don't know," Reed said tiredly. He certainly would like to know why he looked just like Ash as well, seeing as he had no clue. Why couldn't she just drop the subject already?

"It's hard to believe, but the poetry guy wouldn't lie to us," Dawn murmured, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Poetry guy?" Reed repeated, sounding confused.

"Uh, yeah." Dawn sat down on the opposite bed. "Come on, you know who the poetry guy is."

"Uh..." Now that Reed thought about it, he distinctly remembered hearing her talk about poems and Professor Oak fairly often while he was following the group. "Yeah, of course." He let out a nervous chuckle. "I know it's Professor Oak."

"Sorry, I guess I shouldn't be saying strange stuff at a time like this." Dawn looked embarrassed for a second. "It's just that I know him for his poetry and not the other stuff. Anyway, don't you think it's a little odd that he pretended to be you?"

"I suppose," Reed spoke in a bored tone. He wished she would just leave him alone already and desist with all the questions. Didn't she have anything better to do?

"What if he did it again? I sure wouldn't want someone going around and pretending to be me. That's just kind of disturbing." Dawn rubbed her arms, staring intently at the boy sitting across from her, who was looking at his feet. "He could even be doing it right now."

Reed jerked his head up, his mouth drying. "Excuse me?" he asked a little too quickly.

"Well, if he did it once before, he might again..." Dawn raised an eyebrow, surprised at his sudden reaction. "Relax, will you? It was just a thought."

"Oh..." Reed looked away, biting on his lower lip. This conversation was really putting him on edge. He had to try and relax, otherwise she would surely figure out that something wasn't right.

Dawn stared at him with a troubled expression on her face. The boy sitting before her really was Ash, wasn't he? Of course he had to be. She had to be crazy to think otherwise, right? The blue-haired girl sighed and fell back onto the bed, staring up at the bottom of the above bunk.

Ash had been acting rather distant today, but that could be easily explained by the fact Pikachu was dead. Yet, Pikachu's death made very little sense to her. If the person who took Pikachu was just going to kill it from the start, why would they have requested that Ash go all the way up that mountain by himself? There had been no body either, which struck her as odd.

Dawn screwed her eyes shut, letting out a sigh of frustration. This was ridiculous. Ever since Professor Oak had brought up the subject of that boy with Ash's face, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She really shouldn't be letting it bother her so much, but what if it was true?

Maybe she just needed to give him a little test. Dawn sat up again, swallowing nervously. It was probably a little unfair to test him at a time like this, but she really had to be sure. Ash would forgive her anyway, she knew he would. They weren't friends for nothing. He would understand why she had to do it, wouldn't he?

"You know, you can talk to me. We've been friends for a long time," Dawn said gently. "I know you're sad about Pikachu, but bottling it up isn't going to do much. I just wish you would try and talk about it a bit more."

"I don't really want to," Reed spoke in a tone that he hoped would get the message across.

"Alright, if you say so, but I'm here if you ever change your mind." Dawn took a deep breath, preparing herself. "Let's talk about something else then." She paused, trying to think of something. "How about the day we first met? You remember how Team Rocket had taken Pikachu, but it escaped and I protected it from them?"

Reed honestly didn't have any idea about that day, seeing as he hadn't even been there. He sat forward and nodded, listening. It could be useful information anyway, so he was willing to listen to her reminisce. The more he knew about Ash's life, the easier this would be.

"I was heading back with Pikachu to meet you, when Team Rocket appeared again. It was really scary, because they had that huge machine," Dawn continued. "They tried to grab Pikachu, but I jumped in front of it and they picked me up instead. That was when you came in and you saved me from the machine, then used Pikachu to blast them off. Ever since then, we traveled together."

Dawn let out a long, slow breath and waited for Ash to tell her that she was remembering it all wrong and it hadn't happened like that at all. Instead, the boy sitting before her just nodded his head, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Reed shook his head. "Team Rocket were always causing trouble for us, but we could handle them easily enough."

Dawn just stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. Her head was starting to spin and she felt so cold inside. It felt like something was crawling across her skin. Instead of correcting her, he had simply acted as if it was all true. It wasn't unlike Ash to have memory problems, but it couldn't possibly be that bad.

"Well, uh..." Dawn got to her feet, feeling shaky and stunned. She couldn't believe it, that the person sitting before her really might not be Ash after all, but it was true, wasn't it? "I'd love to talk some more, but... I really need to go and call my mom now." Her voice was growing even more shrill as she spoke. The coordinator hastily turned around and made her way to the door.

"Wait." Reed got off the bed and rushed over to grab hold of her arm, stopping her. He had noticed how strange she was acting all of a sudden and it bothered him. "What's the matter?"

"Let go of me!" Dawn exclaimed in a panicked voice, trying to pull her arm away. She had to get away and tell Brock.

"Why are you acting like this? Was it something I said?" Reed was confused, wondering why she was suddenly behaving in this way. All he had done was go along with what she was saying, how could he have messed up? Then comprehension dawned on him. "It was a trap, wasn't it? Well, you're certainly a smart girl."

Dawn stared at him, her eyes filling up with tears. "You... you're not Ash!" she screamed, managing to pull away this time. She ran to the door, only to be slammed against it and let out a muffled groan of pain.

"I don't know how you figured it out, but I can't let you tell anyone." Reed pulled her away from the door, wrapping his arms around her waist and pinning her arms to her body. He couldn't understand how he had managed to mess up. What had he even done to tip her off in the first place, causing her to set up a trap for him? One thing was clear, he needed to shut her up somehow.

"Piplup, pip!" Piplup ran forward to protect its trainer, angrily letting off a stream of bubbles.

Reed hurriedly moved out of the way, pulling Dawn along with him. "Good thing I'm prepared," he said, reaching into his pocket and taking out a Poké Ball. "Come out, Jolteon."

Dawn looked on in surprise as the yellow Pokémon appeared. "Piplup!" she exclaimed, trying to break free of the hold on her to no avail. "Be careful!"

"Use Thunderbolt," Reed commanded. Jolteon immediately sprang into action, releasing a massive bolt of electricity that struck Piplup head on and sent it flying across the room where it came to rest on the floor, looking dazed.

"Piplup!" Dawn cried out again in horror. She barely registered that Reed was now dragging her toward the balcony as she stared at the small penguin Pokémon, silently begging it to get up again. It wasn't until she felt the rush of cold air that she realised what was happening. "Wait, what are you doing?" she asked in panic, struggling and trying to pull away again.

"I have to keep you quiet, no matter what. I worked hard for this and I can't let you ruin it now." Reed spun her around until she faced him, still holding on. "I don't really want to do this, but I have no choice."

Dawn whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "What did you do with Ash?" she asked querulously.

"He took a fall down the mountain," Reed replied, eliciting a horrified sob from the young girl.

"No... you... killed him... and Pikachu too?" Dawn's voice cracked as she started to sob hysterically. She couldn't believe what was happening. This was all much too crazy. It had to be some kind of nightmare.

Reed pushed her up against the balcony. "It really is too bad you caught me. I'll have to be more careful from now on."

"No... please don't..." Dawn's entire body was shaking with terror. She desperately kicked and lashed out at him with her fists. Reed paid no attention to the blows, forcefully lifting her by the underarms and shoving her backward with all his strength.

Dawn plummeted toward the ground, letting out a terrified scream. Her hands scrabbled frantically, finding nothing to hold on to. The ground rushed up to meet her and everything became dark.


	11. Chapter 11

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Ash winced, letting out a quiet gasp as he felt the wash-cloth rubbing over one of his cuts. Though his cuts weren't too serious, some of them still stung a bit. He was sitting in a chair with a towel over his lap, facing the wall while Nurse Joy's Chansey was helping wash his body.

"Chansey, chan," Chansey spoke in an apologetic voice, pausing.

"It's okay," Ash assured Chansey quickly. Chansey resumed its task, washing him more gently this time.

Ash looked down at his bare chest and arms, his eyes roaming over the cuts and bruises that scarred his skin, and swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. How had he managed to end up in such a state? He couldn't even begin to imagine what had led to him falling all the way down that huge mountain.

It certainly was lucky that the only thing he had lost from the fall was his memory. That accident could easily have cost him his life.

A shiver ran through Ash's body at the thought. What if it hadn't been an accident and someone really had tried to take his life? Who could possibly want to do that to him? He couldn't even remember his own friends, let alone any enemies he might have had.

It was all a blur. He could only remember the smallest details, like his own name. When he closed his eyes and tried to think, faces floated through his mind, fuzzy and unfocused, before disappearing again. Flashes of memories would sometimes come to him, only to dart away when he tried to take hold of them. Ash found it incredibly frustrating and depressing. All he could do was hope that his memories came back to him eventually.

Chansey was now drying him off carefully with another towel. It then placed the towel aside and held out a stubby arm to Ash. "Chansey."

Ash took hold of its arm as he got up from the chair, cautiously moving across the room toward the door. He caught sight of himself in a large mirror fixed on the wall of the bathroom and came to a stop, turning around to get a closer look at himself.

His own face was very familiar to him and he clearly recognised himself. As he stared at his reflection with a pensive expression, something began to tug at his memory. A splitting pain suddenly shot through his head and Ash let out a loud exclamation, reaching up to touch his head and screwing his eyes shut as he grimaced.

"Chansey?" Chansey asked in a worried tone.

"Ugh..." Ash blinked rapidly, feeling dizzy for a brief second. His heart pounded rapidly as he looked up at the mirror again. What had caused that sudden reaction just now? He felt as if he had been about to remember something but now it was gone. Even looking at himself a second time wasn't bringing anything back. His spirits sank and he sighed. "Never mind. It was nothing."

Ash left the bathroom with Chansey, immediately seeing that a pair of clean, folded pajamas had been left on the bed where he was to sleep. He walked over to the bed and slowly sat down, reaching out to pick up the garments. As he held them, he looked down with a pensive expression.

What was happening? Ash didn't know what was going on and it made him feel scared. The fact he had lost his memory was the least of his worries right now. His friends who were supposed to be by his side were nowhere to be seen. Hadn't they been there when he fell down a mountain and why hadn't they come to find him? If it hadn't been for those two people and that Meowth, whom he only vaguely remembered, he could have been stuck in that cave for a long time.

There was something he had to remember and it was very important that he did so, but what was it? His thoughts drifted back to the meeting with those people in the cave. What was it they had mentioned at first?

"Pikachu," Ash recalled, feeling a sudden pang in his chest. He had a Pikachu, didn't he? Something had happened to that Pikachu, but what? Was that the reason why he was out there on the mountain? It was so frustrating not being able to remember anything, when he so desperately needed to.

Then there was the matter of what had happened when he looked in the mirror. Why did simply seeing his own face provoke that sort of reaction?

Ash sighed in frustration and pushed away those thoughts, concentrating on getting changed. At this time, thinking about it wasn't going to do any good. All he could do right now was try to relax and recover from the accident, while waiting for his friends to return. They would come back for him, wouldn't they?

Nurse Joy came in a short while later, seeing that Ash was changed and in bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"It still hurts when I move around," Ash responded.

"Well, just take it easy," Nurse Joy cautioned. "You'll be feeling much better after a good, long rest. I'll bring you some food now. You must be starving."

Ash watched the pink-haired nurse turn around and leave the room, closing the door behind her. Indeed, he was feeling quite famished and his empty stomach painfully reminded him of that fact. When was the last time he had eaten anything? Of course, he couldn't remember that either. Ash sighed and gazed up at the bottom of the top bunk, feeling a pang in his chest. His mind was almost a total blank and he hated it. How long would he have to wait before it all came back to him?

Nurse Joy soon returned with a tray, upon which sat a bowl of hot miso soup, a plate laden with rice balls, salad and bread, and a glass of water. She set it down before Ash. "Here you go. Be sure to eat plenty."

Ash didn't need to be told. When Nurse Joy returned to take away the tray, the plate and bowl were completely empty. As she left, she turned out the light and Ash found himself alone in the darkness. He burrowed down beneath the sheets, curling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

He really was feeling so lonely and a little afraid right now. Ash closed his eyes and tried not to think about it. Tomorrow, his friends would surely come back for him and everything would be okay. They would help him to recover his memory and he might even see his Pikachu again. There was nothing to worry about, was there? Eventually, he managed to drift off into a troubled sleep.

In his dream, he found himself standing outside in the snow. It was dark and the snow swirled around him. The thin rags he wore proved to be little resistance against the sheer cold that was biting into him. Ash shivered wildly and wrapped his arms around his chest, taking a hesitant step through the snow. A sharp sting bit into the bottom of his bare foot, stopping him in his tracks.

In the distance, he could see people standing around and looking straight at him. Their faces were familiar, but he didn't know their names. Ash painstakingly struggled through the snow toward them, only for them to fade away.

"Wait!" Ash called out, his teeth chattering. "Don't leave me!" But they were gone and he had once more found himself alone.

Then he saw something else. A yellow shape, with patches of brown and black, as well as long ears and a jagged tail, standing before him. It turned around and he saw its smiling face, immediately realising who it was.

"Pikachu!" Ash started walking again, quicker this time. He didn't notice the cold and the pain anymore as he tried to reach his dear friend.

Pikachu turned away from him and started to run off into the distance.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out again, breaking out into a run. "Wait for me!" He ran as fast as he could, desperate to reach Pikachu before he disappeared.

The ground gave way beneath him and Ash found himself falling through empty space. He was rolling over on the snow, tumbling toward the endless depths below. Terror seized his chest in its icy grip. Ash wanted to scream, but he couldn't as his breath had been snatched away from him. Pain shot through his body as his body bounced off sharp rocks and he was sure he was going to die. He didn't want to die. It was much too soon for him to die. His hands scrabbled uselessly, finding nothing to hold on to.

Was this the end? How could it be... how could his life end in this way? It wasn't fair...

Then Ash jolted awake, gasping. His chest was pounding and his skin was glistening with sweat. He reached up and brushed away tears from his cheeks. "Pikachu," he whispered in a desolate voice. "Please come back to me."

* * *

Reed clutched the base of the chair so tightly that the knuckles of his hands were turning white. His eyes darted around the hall, taking in the plain white walls and the rows of chairs lined up. At the end of the hall were a pair of closed doors. Beyond the door, doctors were fighting to save the life of the girl he had pushed from a balcony only an hour ago.

Why couldn't she just have been a good girl and died the moment she hit the ground? Reed clenched his teeth, beads of perspiration forming on his brow. If she pulled through, then his secret would be exposed and everyone would know who he really was, a miserable fake who had tried to take the place of someone else.

Even the thought of her dying made him feel a little on edge. He hadn't really been thinking about what he was doing, he was just so desperate to keep her quiet. If she died and someone suspected that it wasn't just an accident, then he was probably going to get accused of murder. With Ash, there had been nothing to worry about. He had done it in an isolated place and then replaced Ash himself, so nobody even noticed he was missing.

What was he supposed to have done? Reed let out a groan and hung his head. This was all starting to get much too complicated. Nobody was supposed to have realised that he wasn't Ash. Everything should have been easy from the start.

"Ash?"

Reed hadn't even heard the approach of footsteps and was startled when he heard Brock speak. He jerked his head up in alarm to see the older boy standing there with paper cups of coffee in his hands.

"It's going to be a long night. You want some coffee?" Brock asked, holding out a cup.

Reed silently took the cup from him and sat still, staring at the top of the mug with a blank expression on his face. He certainly wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight, worrying like this.

Brock sat in the chair next to him and took a sip from his cup, exhaling heavily. "What is going on here? First Pikachu, now this... I just hope Dawn isn't going to meet the same fate. How could this have happened?"

"I just don't know," Reed spoke in a small voice. "She was outside by the balcony, I was sitting in the room and the next thing I know, she's screaming. When I went to look, she wasn't even there anymore."

Brock remained quiet, slowly sipping from the cup. He could barely get his head around all this. It was a lot to take in. How could Dawn have gone and taken a fall off the balcony so soon after Pikachu was taken and got rid of? Something definitely wasn't right.

"Someone's out to get me," Reed whispered. "I know it." He raised the cup and took a long sip, savouring the hot, bitter liquid that rushed down his throat.

Brock stared at him with a troubled expression. What had happened with Pikachu and now Dawn didn't seem like it could be a complete coincidence. He wondered how it was possible that Dawn could have been sent flying over that balcony. "I just don't understand," he spoke, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Why would anybody want to do this to you?"

Reed sipped from the cup again. "I don't know," he stated flatly. "I just don't."

Brock sighed again, resting his head in one hand. His mind flashed back to earlier that evening, when "Ash" had come running downstairs, screaming that Dawn had been in an accident. An ambulance was called and Dawn was immediately rushed to the hospital. He would never forget the sight of her lying on the ground, blood fanning out from her head. It was very lucky she hadn't been killed instantly, but he didn't know if she would even make it through the night. Her Piplup had been hysterical. It was left in the care of Nurse Joy, who had quickly given it a sedative to calm it down.

Reed gazed at the doors, his face grim. While Brock was hoping for her to live, he prayed for the exact opposite. If Dawn lived to tell the tale, then that would be it. Everything he had worked so hard for would be completely and utterly ruined. He drained the rest of the coffee and sat back in his seat, sighing heavily.

&lt;!-- end story --&gt;


	12. Chapter 12

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Jessie, James and Meowth trudged along the path that led into the city, looking worn out. They had been searching around all morning and had found themselves in another city not too far from Snowpoint. So far, there had been no sign of the people they were looking for and they were beginning to grow tired of it.

"I hope there's somewhere cheap to eat at around here," James moaned. "I'm starving."

"Where are those twerps anyway?" Jessie growled in frustration. "None of this makes any sense. If their friend had fallen down a mountain, you would think they would have been looking for him. Instead, we're the ones looking for them?"

"There's no way they would be in a place like this, not when that twerp's in trouble," Meowth said. "Let's just go fill our tummies, then we'll think about what to do next."

"I swear, it's like those twerps are hiding from us," Jessie grumbled, clenching a fist. "If we ever find them, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. It's ridiculous that we're going to so much trouble for someone like the twerp."

"Hey, look, a noodle bar!" James exclaimed suddenly, pointing in the direction of a stall where a man stood, boiling noodles. "Let's eat over there."

After they had eaten from bowls of ramen and were full and satisfied, they paid up and walked away from the stall, going further into the city. They were content to just take a look around the place, especially since their search seemed to be going nowhere.

While they were walking, Meowth caught sight of two people standing in front of a large, white building that he assumed was a hospital. "Hey, you guys," he hissed frantically, pointing toward the hospital. "I just spotted the twerps over there."

"Well, it's about time!" Jessie exclaimed, her gaze falling on them. She froze, blinking her eyes rapidly. "James, remind me. Which twerp was it we left at Snowpoint City again, because I think I'm going crazy."

"That can't be." James was perplexed at the sight. One of the people standing there was definitely the same person they had left in Snowpoint City the day before. "The twerpette's not there, but it wasn't her we left back in the city. What's going on?"

"Let's listen in," Meowth suggested. Team Rocket quickly made their way through the street without being seen and reached the side of the building. They inched their way toward the front until they could hear the conversation and listened intently.

"It just might be possible it was an accident." Brock was speaking. "Dawn could have just leaned too far and slipped for all we know. I know it seems too unnatural to be a coincidence."

"Pikachu is taken away from me and then Dawn just happens to fall off the balcony? She could have died." A long silence followed this statement. "It was fortunate she only went into a coma, after a fall like that. Someone's following us and whoever it is, they are out to get me or just make my life miserable."

"I'm not saying there isn't someone out there. I know somebody had to be responsible for what happened to Pikachu, but to think they followed us all the way here and just happened to catch Dawn out on the balcony, then somehow knocked her off? Something about it just doesn't seem right to me."

"They could get you next, especially if they are trying to take all my friends away from me, and you would be sorry you didn't believe me." The voice was so faint that Team Rocket almost didn't hear it. "I'm afraid of what will happen next and I don't want to stay around here any longer. We have to lose whoever it is before they try again."

"But, Ash... you can't seriously be suggesting that we..."

"Do you want to be next? We have to get out of here and I'm not going to stay in this place, not while that person could be watching us right now and waiting for another chance to strike. I'm sick of this!"

"Ash!" Brock exclaimed, as the younger boy turned around and took off back toward the Pokémon Center. He remained standing still where he was, slowly shaking his head. "I just don't understand," he spoke in a despairing voice. Why would Ash want to leave while Dawn lay in that hospital, in a coma? They had already called her mother who was on her way, but he had thought Ash would want to stay by his friend's side for a while. Brock supposed that Ash was so afraid, that he just wasn't thinking rationally.

"He called him Ash," Jessie observed, raising an eyebrow. "I guess we can rule out the twerp being replaced by his twin brother." She turned her head to look at her companions. "Maybe the twerp's friends came back for him and they got here really fast?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jessie," James protested. "Remember the state he was in when we left him? Unless he has amazing powers of recovery, I don't think they can be the same person. Anyway, what about the fact he was suffering from memory loss?"

"So how would you explain that then?" Jessie exclaimed, gesturing toward Brock who was still gazing into the distance hopelessly. "That tall twerp called the twerp by his name and he's the spitting image of the twerp too."

"Hey, now is not the time for arguing," Meowth interrupted, waving his arms in annoyance. "Why don't we just have a little chat with him and see what's going on?" Jessie and James glanced at him doubtfully. "Hey, I don't see any other way to solve this mystery, do you?"

Brock was about to set off toward the Pokémon Center when he heard voices calling out a certain t-word he was familiar with and turned around to see Jessie, James and Meowth approaching him. "Oh, it's you guys." He didn't even bother to mask the disappointment in his voice.

Jessie frowned, narrowing her eyes in irritation. "Okay, we may not be your most favourite people in the world, but you don't have to greet us like that. Believe it or not, we're actually not here to steal your Pokémon from you. Not right now, anyway."

"We just wanted to ask about the twerp," James cut in. "I mean, Ash. I know it might sound strange of us to ask, but is he okay? No problems there?"

"You know, the last thing Ash needs right now is you turning up out of nowhere and doing what you always do," Brock said in a firm voice. "I don't expect you to actually listen, but Ash is going through a hard time right now." His gaze turned toward James. "I don't know why you would ask something like that, but he is fine, though he has a lot to cope with at the moment."

"He hasn't been falling off any mountains or suffering from memory loss or anything like that?" Meowth inquired.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Brock seemed even more confused now. "Oh, and you should just forget about Pikachu. It's gone forever and you'll never be able to get it now." He exhaled heavily and turned around, walking back to the Pokémon Center.

The three Rockets stared at Brock's retreating back, finding themselves utterly lost for words. Nothing was making any sense all of a sudden and they didn't know what to think.

"This really isn't what I was expecting," James said slowly. "Is it possible that last night was simply a figment of our imagination?"

"Don't be ridiculous. There's got to be a reasonable answer for this and we're going to find out what it is," Jessie declared, placing her hands on her hips. "Why don't we go into the hospital and pay a visit to the twerpette?"

"Didn't they say she was in a coma?" James asked confusedly.

"Why don't we just forget about it and go steal some Pokémon?" Meowth asked despairingly. He was already beginning to tire of this situation, which seemed to be getting weirder by the minute.

"This might help us to find Pikachu!" Jessie snapped. "If that twerp isn't really the twerp, then chances are he's lying about Pikachu being gone. What do you think about that?" She paused, her eyes lighting up. "What if he was the one who took Pikachu in the first place?"

"I don't understand. Why would he want to take Pikachu?" James spread his arms helplessly. "Isn't that supposed to be our job?"

"The twerp must have been going up the mountain to save Pikachu," Meowth guessed. "Then he had a little accident, that probably wasn't an accident after all." He paused. "This really sounds like some crazy conspiracy theory."

"That twerpette's fall may not have been an accident either and I'll bet that impostor twerp had something to do with it. Let's go." Jessie marched purposefully toward the hospital, James and Meowth hurrying after her.

"I don't see how this is going to help when she's in a coma," James muttered as they entered the building. Jessie paid no heed to him however as they approached the receptionist desk.

"We're looking for our friend who is in this hospital," Jessie told the receptionist. "A girl named Dawn. She came in here after falling off a balcony."

"Hold on a moment." The receptionist turned toward her computer, fingers drumming away on the keyboard. A few seconds later, she stopped to read what was on the screen. "The patient is located on the upper floor, in room 120."

"Thanks," said Jessie, turning toward the stairs. The three members of Team Rocket proceeded through the upper corridor until they came to the door marked with the number '120'. The adjoining window offered them a view of the room within. Meowth jumped up onto James's shoulder so that he could see what Jessie and James were looking at.

Dawn was lying in the bed, her eyes closed to the world. The thick bandages wrapped around her head made her scarcely recognisable, and the oxygen mask strapped around her face didn't help matters.

"I can't help but feel bad for her," James spoke, breaking the stifling silence that hung over the three. "She may have been a twerpette, but she didn't deserve to fall off a balcony and end up in a coma."

"She sure isn't going to be telling us anything in that state," Meowth stated. He cast his eyes down, sobered by the sight before him. "Maybe we ought to just leave and find something else to do."

"Wait," Jessie said suddenly. "Look at the end of the bed. Isn't that her Piplup?" James and Meowth glanced at that particular location, seeing a blue dome that did resemble the top of Piplup's head.

"It must be really worried about its trainer," Meowth said sympathetically. "I know if Giovanni was ever in a coma, I would never want to leave his bedside. I would stay there all day and-"

"Spare us the details, Meowth." Jessie rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for listening to Meowth going on about how much he adored the Team Rocket boss right now. "Anyway, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm not crazy, Jessie," James replied, earning a smack to the head. He sheepishly rubbed the spot where she had angrily whacked him. "Okay, what is it?"

"You know how the twerpette never seems to put that Piplup of hers in its Poké Ball anymore?" Jessie paused. "Well, she may not be able to talk, but I'm sure that her Pokémon can." With that said, her gaze fixed on Meowth.

"I don't think it's going to want to have a chat with us," Meowth said uncertainly.

"Come on, Meowth, we're doing this to get Pikachu, remember?" James smiled. "Anyway, we're in a hospital. I'm sure it's not going to do anything stupid like fire exploding bubbles everywhere."

"Oh yeah, that's real reassuring." Meowth dropped to the floor. "Just how do those bubbles explode anyway?"

As Team Rocket stepped into the room, the first thing they heard was a steady beeping emitting from the machinery. Piplup looked up at the sound of the door closing and fury crossed its face as it recognised the trio. "Piplup, pip!" it squeaked angrily, leaping to the floor and hunching over, glaring at them.

"Hey, relax," Meowth said quickly, waving his paws. "We're not going to do anything to her and we're sure not thinking of stealing any Pokémon right now."

"Pip?" Piplup eyed Meowth suspiciously.

"We're just here for some answers," Meowth continued speaking. "Were you there when the twerpette had her accident on the balcony?"

"Piplup!" Piplup shouted vehemently. "Pip, piplup!"

"It was no accident, you say? Well, would you mind telling us what really happened?" Meowth fell silent, listening to Piplup tell him an account of what had happened that night. When Piplup finished, he turned toward Jessie and James. "Looks like that twerp we saw out there isn't the real one. When the twerpette found out, things got ugly."

"So, the real twerp is in Snowpoint City. That fake twerp must have kidnapped Pikachu to lure him up to the mountain and tried to get rid of him, then replaced him," James surmised. "What I don't get is why there are two of them. What's going on here?"

"I wonder where Pikachu is." Jessie folded her arms, looking thoughtful. "What did that fake do with it?"

Meowth repeated the question to Piplup, who replied in a sad tone. "Eh? That can't be!" He looked at Jessie and James with a despairing expression. "Apparently, he came down from that mountain and told the other twerps that Pikachu... it was dead. There was blood everywhere, but he never found a body. How could anyone do that to Pikachu?"

A stark silence fell over the room, broken only by the continuous beeps. The thought of Pikachu being gone left Team Rocket lost for words, wondering what they were supposed to do now. For a long time now, their whole lives had revolved around trying to get it and they couldn't imagine what life would be like with it gone.

"Hold on," James said faintly. "That was the fake pretending to be the twerp. If he's lying about being the twerp, he could be lying about Pikachu."

"Why don't we go to the mountaintop?" Jessie suggested. "If we find the blood, then we'll know it's for real."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Meowth agreed. "Let's go do that. Thanks for the help," he spoke to Piplup, waving his paw.

A little while later, the three members of Team Rocket were inside the Meowth balloon as it drifted off into the sky, heading in the direction of Mt. Coronet. Eventually, they arrived at the snowy peaks and sought out the spot near where they had found Ash the night before. The balloon came to rest at the top of the mountain and they disembarked.

As the trio walked around and looked for some clues, they soon came across an empty cage that had been left sitting on a rock. It certainly was an unusual sight and they knew there had to be something odd about it.

"Pikachu might have been kept in this cage," James guessed. "Meowth, what do you think?"

Meowth sniffed at the cage, catching a familiar scent, and nodded. "Yeah, I can definitely smell Pikachu. Too bad Pikachu itself isn't inside this cage anymore."

"So we know Pikachu was definitely up here. There doesn't seem to be any blood anywhere." Jessie looked around at the scenery, unable to make out any sign of blood on the snow or the surrounding objects. "So that might mean Pikachu is alive."

"Oh, thank goodness! We're not out of a job!" James exclaimed, clasping his hands together.

"Hey, don't get too excited," Meowth warned. "We don't actually have any proof Pikachu is well and alive. I hope it is, but then where is it?"

"The easiest place to hide a Pokémon would surely be its own Poké Ball," Jessie said thoughtfully. "Though Pikachu's always been out of it."

"So Pikachu is either dead or it's been hidden away." James folded his arms, looking serious. "The easiest way to get to Pikachu would be to help the real twerp out and get him back where he belongs. Maybe that way we'll find out."

"It's getting late now," Jessie remarked, looking toward the horizon where the sun was beginning to set. "I think it can wait until tomorrow. Now what are we going to have for dinner?"

* * *

Miles away, at the Pokémon Center in Snowpoint City, Ash was standing in front of a window, his arms resting on the sill while he watched the snow fall. The sky was turning dark and he knew he was going to face another night stuck in this place, waiting and wondering.

The young Pokémon trainer sighed and placed his chin on his arms, the tip of his nose barely touching the cold glass. He felt so lonely.


	13. Chapter 13

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Nurse Joy was on duty at the desk, waiting for someone to come in with a Pokémon that required treatment while she looked through the newspaper in front of her. The sound of the doors sliding open caused her to stop and look up. The pink-haired nurse immediately recognised the two people and their Meowth who had walked into the lobby.

"Oh, it's you. Welcome back," Nurse Joy said happily. She had been concerned about Ash, who was looking even more unhappy by the day. The longer the waiting, the more miserable he got. "Ash has been waiting a very long time, you know. Did you find his friends?"

"Yes, we did," Jessie responded, "in the next town not too far from here. The thing is, we kind of have a complicated situation going on."

"Really?" Nurse Joy tilted her head, pursing her lips in a frown. "If you found his friends, there shouldn't be any problem, should there? Did you tell them to come back here for him?" She looked toward the doors expectantly, as if expecting to see them standing there on the other side.

"We said it was a complicated situation. No, they are not here, but we're going to help out the twerp... I mean, Ash, ourselves. How is he anyway?" James inquired.

"He's doing much better. So, you're going to take him?" Nurse Joy asked, a question to which the two of them nodded emphatically. "Alright, that's fine. I'll go and get him." She turned around and briskly walked away, leaving them alone in the lobby.

"I hope this plan of ours goes well for once," Meowth said, looking up at his partners. "Not only is it totally crazy, but it's risky. What do you think would happen if the twerp suddenly got his memory back and realised who we were?"

"I wouldn't worry about that. He can't do anything without Pikachu," James remarked confidently. "I doubt he's even got any of his Pokémon on him. Anyway, we're just helping him out, aren't we? It's not like we're kidnapping him."

"All we have to do is take the twerp back to his twerpy friends and expose that fake for who he is, then the truth about where Pikachu is will surely come out." Jessie gleefully rubbed her hands together, a devious smile crossing her face. "Then the twerp will get Pikachu back and everything will return to normal. The moment that happens, we swoop in and grab Pikachu ourselves."

The sound of footsteps alerted the three Rockets to the return of Nurse Joy, who came walking into the lobby with Ash following just behind her. His face showed disappointment as he looked at the trio, wondering why they had not brought anybody else with them. What had become of his friends whom they were supposed to have gone and looked for?

"Hey, twer... Ash," James spoke, returning the younger boy's gaze. "I know we were supposed to be looking for your friends but there's been a change of plans."

"Haven't you found them?" Ash asked, a hint of worry clear in his voice. Horrifying possibilities ran through his mind. What if he hadn't been the only one to have an accident on that mountain? Maybe his friends had also been in the same situation and they hadn't been as lucky as he was. "Did something happen to them?"

"Yes, we found them, but things are a bit tricky right now," Jessie answered. "So we're just going to take you back to your friends. We'll explain what's going on while we're on the way, but it's bound to be a lot for you to take in."

"Hm?" Ash frowned, seeming confused. "I don't get it. Why didn't they just come back for me? Didn't they realise I was missing?"

"That's why we're going to explain on the way," James said in a patient tone. "Hold off the questions for now, okay?"

"How is that memory coming along anyway?" Jessie asked.

"I can remember a bit more, but there's still a lot missing. I can't even remember who you guys are, though you are familiar." Ash lowered his head, exhaling heavily. It was frustrating how his memory was taking so long to come back to him and he just wished it would be complete again.

"It will come back eventually. You'll just have to be patient," Nurse Joy said kindly. "I hope it will come back sooner rather than later. It must be awful to lose your memory. Well, you should leave now. Your friends must be terribly worried about you."

Ash nodded. "Thank you very much for helping me out, Nurse Joy." The nurse replied that he was welcome, and with that, he headed toward the double doors with the Team Rocket trio. They walked through the snowy city, eventually reaching the Meowth balloon parked nearby.

Once the balloon was adrift, floating in the direction of the nearby town, and everyone was seated securely in the basket, it was time for Team Rocket to begin telling Ash what was happening.

"We don't exactly know how it all started but we have a pretty good guess," James began explaining. "Pikachu was kidnapped three days ago and you couldn't find it. Then, the next morning, you went up Mt. Coronet all by yourself."

"Mt. Coronet is the mountain I fell down, isn't it?" Ash asked.

"That's right," Meowth responded. "You went there to save Pikachu, but then something happened that led to you taking a nasty fall down the mountain instead. The sad thing is, your friends had no idea you were involved in an accident."

"I don't understand." Ash's brow furrowed.

"Of course you don't understand! Let us tell the story," Jessie exclaimed a little too loudly. Ash looked at her, his eyes widening slightly, and she saw James shake his head reproachfully. "You'll understand soon enough. Just let us explain."

Ash bit his bottom lip, nodding slightly and casting his gaze toward the bottom of the basket.

"There's another twerp out there who looks just like you," Meowth stated. Ash looked toward Meowth, his mouth dropping open. "We don't have a clue who he is, but I think we can rule out twin brother. Wouldn't we know if you had one?"

"He tried to kill you so that he could take your place," James said seriously, wondering how the younger boy would react to something so alarming. They had to tell him everything, no matter how nervous it made him. "That's why your friends didn't know you were hurt. They thought you were safe and sound with them."

Ash sat back, resting against the side of the basket, and looked up toward the sky with a sad expression. "Why would someone try to kill me?" he whispered. "They even used my Pikachu to get to me? It's just so awful. Wait, is Pikachu okay?"

"Hopefully. Actually, we don't know," James stated. "That fake twerp said Pikachu was dead-" He paused, when Ash looked at him with an alarmed expression. "But he was lying about being you and possibly lied about Pikachu as well, so we're going to believe Pikachu is safe and alive for now."

"I see," Ash murmured, clenching a fist. A rush of hatred ran through his body, directed at the person who was pretending to be him. How could anybody do something so despicable? It just didn't make any sense.

"That fake twerp might have been a good actor, but he wasn't good enough. The twerpette realised he wasn't who he said he was." Meowth fell silent for a moment. "He tried to get rid of her, just like he did with you."

Ash stared at the talking feline, his eyes widening again. "What?"

"Pushed her off a balcony. It's alright, she didn't die," Meowth assured him. "But she's in no condition to be telling any tales either. Lucky for that fake, huh?"

"She's in a coma," James explained. "It means she's sleeping and nobody knows when she'll be waking up, if ever."

"Oh." Ash could suddenly picture her now in his mind. Her smiling face was clear as day and he drew in a sharp breath. "How could he do that?" he hissed in an angry voice. "What's wrong with him? What gives him the right to do stuff like this?"

"Whoever he is, he's obviously crazy. We're going to set things right and he'll get his comeuppance, then we'll get Pikachu..." Jessie immediately realised her error and shook her head hastily. "I mean, you'll get Pikachu back."

Ash swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat. "Somebody who looked just like me tried to take my life and replace me? What would he want to do that for? What's wrong with his own life?"

"Beats me," James said, shaking his head wearily. Even he was beginning to get a little tired of Ash's constant flow of questions. "His head obviously isn't screwed on right."

Ash fell silent, hugging his knees to his chest and gazing into the distance with a pensive expression. This was all a lot to take in and the fact that he was suffering from memory problems wasn't helping his case. It gave him the chills to think somebody was out there who had his own face and that person had even attempted to take his own life. How could anybody think of doing such a thing?

Later on in the day, the balloon approached the town and came down not far from it. Ash and Team Rocket hurried into the town. The trio of thieves took the lead, choosing to check the hospital first in the hope that Brock was there. When they got to the room where Dawn was, they did not find Brock but rather someone else.

A woman with puffy blue hair was sitting in a chair next to Dawn's bed, arms folded as she watched the comatose girl with a worried expression. She looked up as she heard the faint sound of footsteps from outside and saw Jessie and James peering through the window. When they didn't move away, she got to her feet and went to open the door.

"May I help you?" Johanna inquired. "Do you know my daughter?"

"Uh, yeah, you could say that," Jessie responded uncertainly. "We've met quite often. Do you know where we might be able to find the twerp... James, what was his name again?"

"It's Brock," James stated. "Maybe they are at the Pokémon Center?"

Johanna was no longer looking at Jessie and James, but at a certain person standing behind them. Ash was now gazing through the window, his hands pressed against the glass as he focused intently on the face of his friend. "Ash?" she spoke in surprise. "I thought you had left."

Ash didn't even seem to hear her. His face was twisted with emotion as he continued to stare at the young girl in the bed. "Dawn," he murmured in an agonised voice.

Johanna tore her gaze away, frowning in confusion. "What's going on here?"

"You saw Ash earlier today, right?" James asked. Johanna nodded. "Well, that actually wasn't him. This twerp here is the real deal. Problem is, a lot of people don't know that and we're trying to help put things right."

"Really?" Johanna raised an eyebrow, looking toward Ash again. He seemed so upset by the sight of Dawn, as if seeing her for the first time, and she supposed that he was. "That's awful. The thing is, I don't think they are in the town anymore."

"Huh?" the two Rockets exclaimed in alarm. They hadn't been expecting this in the least.

"I saw them yesterday evening when I got here," Johanna explained. "They were already about to leave. I didn't know why they would want to leave so soon especially with Dawn like this. It seemed as if Ash... rather, the boy who looked like him, was afraid of something and he couldn't wait to leave. Brock didn't seem so happy to go, but they left anyway."

James drove a fist into the palm of his other hand in frustration. "We shouldn't have waited until today to do this. Now we don't even know where they are."

"He said something about going home," Johanna recalled. "The boy who I thought was Ash anyway."

"Home," Jessie repeated, her eyes widening. "They are going all the way back to Pallet Town?"

Johanna sighed heavily, seeming tired. "My poor baby" she whispered, turning her head to the room. "How could this happen to her?"

Ash stepped forward, approaching Johanna with a wistful look. "Can I go in?" he asked.

"Of course you can. If you talk to her, maybe she'll hear your voice." Johanna's gaze moved up and down Ash's body, taking in the healing scratches and bruises on his arms and face. "Goodness, what happened to you?"

"I had an accident." Ash didn't feel like taking the time to explain to her what had happened. He stepped into the room and walked over to the side of Dawn's bed.

An angry exclamation from the bed startled him and his gaze fell on the blue penguin Pokémon standing there, watching him with a fierce gaze that warned him not to come any closer to its trainer.

"Piplup, what's the matter? It's only Ash," Johanna assured it. "He's not going to hurt her."

Piplup looked toward the window, seeing the two human members of Team Rocket, and it understood. The real Ash was here and he wasn't intending to harm its trainer in any way, not like the fake who had callously thrown her over the balcony. It sat down and returned to staring at Dawn's face, silently pleading for her to wake up.

Ash sat down beside the bed, reaching out and placing a hand on Dawn's frail arm. A lump formed in his throat and he forced it down. "Dawn," he spoke quietly, "I wonder if you can hear me right now? It's me, Ash." He fell silent, listening to the monotonous beep. "Were you worried about me? I know you figured it out. I just wish you didn't have to get hurt."

Tears formed in his eyes and he hastily reached up to rub them away. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I feel like it's my fault, though I wasn't there. No matter what, I'm going to find that person who's pretending to be me and I'll make him pay. Please wake up soon, okay? I'll come back soon."

Ash got up from the chair, throwing one last look at Dawn as he made his way to the door. "Let's go," he said to Team Rocket. "We've got to catch up to him, right?" His brown eyes shone with determination.

"Yeah, of course. That fake twerp isn't getting away. We'll chase him all the way to Pallet Town if we have to," Jessie said fiercely. She wasn't too impressed about the fact that Pikachu had slipped away from them again. It definitely had to be with that impostor, she was sure of it.

The group left the hospital, returning to the Meowth balloon and it once more took to the sky.

"Why would the fake twerp want to go all the way back to Kanto?" Meowth wondered, folding his arms in deep thought. "Is he trying to get away from something?"

"He probably didn't want to stick around here," James guessed. "If that twerpette wakes up anytime soon and spills, he's going to be in a lot of trouble. He tried to kill her to get her to shut up after all. How fortunate it was for him she ended up in a coma."

"Who knows what that crazy brat is thinking?" Jessie scowled. "I never thought we would meet someone more annoying than..." She broke off, glancing at Ash. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to their conversation though. Ash was curled up in the corner, hugging his legs again and staring at his feet with a pensive look.

"Hey, you okay, twerp? Um, I mean, Ash," Meowth asked.

"I want it back," Ash whispered, sounding pained. "My memory, my friends, my life. I just want it all back."


	14. Chapter 14

**Mirror Image**

* * *

The Meowth shaped balloon floated on its way, taking the route that would lead them south. Its residents were seated comfortably in the basket, filling their empty stomachs with a light lunch composed of rice balls and dumplings.

Ash held a half-eaten ball of rice in his hand, staring thoughtfully at it. "I was just wondering," he suddenly spoke, "how exactly do I know you guys anyway?" He raised his head, turning his curious gaze on Jessie, James and Meowth. "You are very familiar, but I kind of get the feeling that you aren't exactly friends of mine."

A long silence followed as Team Rocket exchanged panicked glances with each other. They hadn't been expecting him to suddenly bring up this question and weren't prepared to answer it just yet. How could they tell him that they had spent the past few years attempting to steal his Pikachu and give it to their boss?

"Now, now, why do you think that we aren't friends?" Meowth asked, smiling in a strained manner.

"I don't know. It's just a feeling that I've got." Ash paused to take a bite out of the rice ball, slowly chewing it and savouring the taste before he swallowed. "I think you guys must have annoyed me a lot in the past. Anyway, when you took me to the Pokémon Center, didn't you tell Nurse Joy that you weren't exactly my friends?"

"We did?" James scratched the back of his head, his eyes darting around nervously. "Well, it's true, we aren't exactly good friends of yours but there have been times that we've got along in the past. We helped you save the world once and also helped to save you from falling to your death another time."

"Really? I wish I could remember all that. Did I actually save the world?" Ash exhaled heavily, a sad look passing over his face. "My life must have really been something for someone else to want it."

"You always did have a knack of getting into crazy stuff," Jessie recalled. "Then again, so did we. It's probably because we were always following you."

"You just followed me around, huh?" Ash paused to lick some bean paste from the remnants of his rice ball. "How come you were doing that?"

"Um, it's complicated." Jessie smiled awkwardly. "You'll probably remember why when your memory comes back anyway. Why don't you just wait until it does so?"

"Yeah, there's no rush." Meowth waved a paw in a dismissive manner. "Just take your sweet time in doing so. For now, we have to focus on what's really important right now and that is catching your impostor."

"I guess so." Ash quickly finished off what was left of his food and leaned back against the side of the basket, wiping his wrist across his mouth. "He could be in danger too, couldn't he? That other friend of mine..." He paused, concentrating deeply as he tried to recall the name. "Brock?"

"If he figures it out, probably so." Jessie nodded, not noticing the flicker of alarm that passed across Ash's face. "Then again, if he got this far without realizing the person traveling by his side was an impostor, I doubt he's going to ever figure it out."

"That twerpette was smart." James rested his chin in one hand. "She figured out what was going on. Too bad she had to blow it and almost pay for it with her life. It's a good thing that we found you. Who knows how long he might have been getting away with it otherwise?"

"There's something that don't quite make sense." Meowth rubbed his furry forehead. "The twerpette just ended up in a coma and she could wake up anytime. Why would the fake twerp go and leave? Surely all she has to do is wake up and tell somebody what's going on, then this grand plan of his is totally ruined. This fake twerp may be crazy, but he doesn't seem to be an idiot."

"You think he might be up to something?" Ash felt a flutter of alarm in his chest. "Maybe we should just go back..."

"You think we should just call off our search and go back to the hospital? The twerpette's mom said he was going back home," Jessie pointed out. "I'm getting sick of all this going back and forth." She sighed and lowered her head, placing a hand against her forehead in irritation.

"We don't know what that crazy twerp is up to or what he's thinking. He's totally unpredictable," James said, sounding slightly worried. "Anyway, it would be better to just keep going. Maybe he was telling the truth for once."

"I don't care what's going on, so long as we find that fake twerp," Meowth snapped. He took the moment as an opportunity to look over the side of the basket, then sighed. "Nope, not a single person in sight. Those twerps are probably way ahead of us, but we'll catch up to them sooner or later. We've always been good at catching up after all."

A heavy silence fell over the balloon and the group resumed eating what was left of the food. It was a dire situation, with them having no idea where their targets could possibly be at this very moment, and they prayed that their luck would change sooner or later.

Almost half an hour had gone by when a strong wind began to pick up, roughly buffeting the balloon as it swept past. The sudden wind was unexpected as the weather had been pleasantly calm before, with barely even a breeze. Everyone quickly scrambled to hold on to something as the balloon began to swing back and forth.

"Ow! Meowth, watch those claws!" James exclaimed, glancing down at the feline Pokémon who had his legs wrapped fast around his own leg. He struggled to hold onto one of the ropes, gritting his teeth. "What's with this wind?"

"I'd certainly like to know," Jessie gasped out, looking up at the sky. "It can't be a storm or a hurricane. So what is it?"

"If this wind doesn't die down soon, we're probably going to blast off," Meowth groaned. "And here I thought we were safe from that for the time being."

"Are we going to crash?" Ash asked, clinging to the side of the basket for dear life. If the balloon kept rocking like this, he was afraid that he was going to be seeing his lunch again. That was certainly not a pleasant thought.

Before anybody could form a response to his question, a hole suddenly opened up in the side of the balloon, created by a sharp gust of wind that had torn through the fabric. Team Rocket heard the familiar hissing sound of the air escaping from the balloon and they knew immediately what was going to happen next. The balloon spiraled down toward a forest below and they all screamed as the ground came rushing up to meet them.

A large cloud of dust rose up above the trees as the basket impacted with the ground. Team Rocket and Ash were thrown clear of the basket, rolling over the ground and coughing up dust. Fortunately, none of them had been injured in the impact and had sustained nothing worse than a few bruises here or there.

"What was that?" Jessie asked angrily, brushing dust off her uniform. "There's no way that wind was natural!" Something must have caused that wind, whatever it was, and if she ever found out its identity, she swore she would make its life a living hell.

"At least we're still in one piece." James weakly got to his feet, brushing back his disheveled violet hair, and sighed. "I swear we have the worst luck. Trust us to get into some kind of freak accident."

"Looks like we landed in a forest." Meowth looked around the clearing, which was surrounded by tall trees. "We sure were lucky that the balloon didn't hit any of the trees on the way down." His gaze moved toward the balloon, taking in the jagged rip along the side that had been responsible for their sudden descent.

"The damage doesn't look too bad," Jessie commented, walking around the balloon and seeming relieved. "Good. The quicker we get it back up in the air, the sooner we can return to hunting down those twerps."

"Now where's that balloon repair kit?" James clambered into the basket, searching through the bags that contained Team Rocket's things. "Aha, here it is."

Ash gazed up into the sky, his forehead creasing in a frown. The weather had become calm again and he knew that strange wind couldn't have been natural. Was someone trying to stop them from going any further or was it something else? He started walking toward the trees, little knowing where he was going or why. It was just a strange feeling he had. Somehow, he knew he should go that way.

Team Rocket were too busy getting to work on repairing the balloon to notice Ash wandering away into the trees. It was going to take some time to patch up the hole then pump it full of air again and there was no time to waste.

The trees were so close together and stretched so high up that the sun was almost blocked out completely and the woods were dark and eerie. Ash rubbed his hands along his bare arms, feeling a shiver run through his body. He was tempted to just turn around and go back into the clearing, but something was telling him to keep going and he just knew it couldn't be ignored.

What was it he was supposed to be looking for? Ash couldn't even imagine what it might be. He listened to the sound of rustling leaves as his feet shuffled over the ground, the only noise that broke the eerie silence.

Out the corner of his eye, Ash caught sight of something that made him stop. It was barely visible beneath a clump of undergrowth, the rest of it hidden by the shrubs. Ash hesitantly moved closer to see what it was, hoping that his initial guess had been wrong, but he could see that he had been right the first time. His heart started to pound in his chest as he stared with wide eyes at what was unmistakably a shoe, still worn on somebody's foot.

His loud scream immediately brought Jessie, James and Meowth to the scene. When they looked at him questioningly, he could only point a shaky finger toward the shoe. "It's a foot," Ash whimpered. "There's somebody there."

"Oh my god." Jessie backed away, putting a hand over her mouth. She tore her eyes away from the shoe, not wishing to look at the horrific sight for any longer than was necessary. "What's a body doing all the way out here?"

"I think we should just get out of here quickly and try to forget about what we saw," James suggested in a shaky voice. "We wouldn't want to meet whatever it was responsible for this. What if they are still here?"

"Hold on a minute," Meowth spoke in a sharp voice, cautiously approaching the undergrowth and taking an experimental sniff at it. "This person doesn't smell dead in the least. Actually, the scent is kind of familiar."

"Familiar?" Ash echoed, his eyes widening. "Does that mean you might know who's under there?"

"Let's get this stuff off whoever it is," Jessie ordered. "James, help me out here."

"If they aren't dead, what are they doing there?" James wondered, standing next to Jessie as they got to work on clearing away the shrubs and uncovering the person who lay beneath.

"Isn't it obvious?" Meowth snapped. "Someone was left out here to die, but luckily for them, we found them in the nick of time."

All the debris was eventually cleared away and the group found themselves looking down in shock at the brunet teen who lay prone across the ground, his legs and arms bound tightly together with stiff rope. The steady rise of his chest indicated that he was still alive, just as Meowth had said. A crusty dark trail of blood ran along the side of his head.

"Brock!" Ash exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror. What was his friend doing out here, tied up and alone in the woods? He looked at the dried blood, a lump forming in his throat. Something terrible had happened and he had a feeling that he knew who the perpetrator was.

"If the balloon hadn't crashed, we wouldn't have found the twerp," Jessie pointed out. "I knew something was responsible for making our balloon go down. Whatever it was, they must have wanted us to find him."

"He was tied up and left here to die." Meowth shook his head. "Even I think that's just terrible. It must have been that fake twerp who did this."

Jessie and James lifted the unconscious male up and carried him back to where the balloon was, lying him down on the ground and removing the ropes that bound his limbs. A minute later, after some rough shaking, Brock began to come around.

"Ugh..." Brock moaned, his face creasing in pain. He looked up toward the faces of Jessie and James. "Team Rocket? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, we just saved your life." James crossed his arms, looking indignant. "A little thank you wouldn't hurt."

Brock weakly sat up, raising a hand to touch his head. He felt a large bump and winced, quickly removing the hand. "What's going on?" he muttered, sounding confused. "Darn, it hurts."

"Brock, are you okay?" Ash asked anxiously, coming over and kneeling before him. It didn't seem that his friend was too badly injured and he was greatly relieved about that. "We just found you lying in the woods, tied up."

The Pokémon breeder stared at him with a perplexed look, his eyes trailing up and down Ash's body. He took in the fact that the boy wasn't wearing the same clothes he usually wore and neither did he even have his bag with him. His body was marked with healed scratches and faint bruises, another oddity that didn't add up. In conclusion, this was definitely not the same boy he was with this morning and he knew now who it was.

"Ash?" Brock regarded him with amazement. "It really is you, isn't it?" Ash nodded, smiling. "That other person wasn't you after all. Of course, I was just starting to figure that out when he went and knocked me out. I'm glad you're safe, but what happened?"

"It was him who kidnapped Pikachu and he set up a trap," Ash said quietly. "I was lucky to survive the fall down Mt. Coronet."

Brock's mouth dropped open and he stared in shock. "I had no idea," he whispered after a long moment of silence. "Why didn't I see it sooner?" He dropped his head, slowly shaking it as he looked at the ground. "Some friend I am, huh?"

"Hey, don't feel bad about it. He must have just done a really good job of it," Ash said, trying to console him. "Anyway, these guys here found me."

"We took him to the Pokémon Center and went to look for you twerps," Jessie spoke up. "We sure weren't expecting to find an exact replica of this twerp here. That sure took us by surprise."

"Hold on... you mean when we were talking outside the hospital, you knew?" Brock looked at her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Um, well, you didn't seem to be in the mood for a chat then and we didn't really know what was going on yet," James said quickly. "It wasn't until Meowth got the story from that twerpette's Piplup that we figured it out. So we thought we'd go back and pick the real twerp up, then bring him to you and sort things out."

"Problem was, by the time we got to the town, you had already left." Meowth didn't bother to disguise the annoyance in his voice. "Can't you darn twerps stay put for more than a second?"

"Hey, I didn't want to leave." Brock spread his arms helplessly. "But Ash... I mean, that fake... he was desperate to go and wouldn't listen to me. He wanted to go home, even though Dawn was in the hospital. Then, something odd happened. We were just walking along when suddenly he said something strange. He told me he was tired of this game and was going to deal with me first. Next thing I know, I'm being knocked out."

Ash narrowed his eyes in fury, a rush of anger passing through him. How could that person go around treating his friends in this way? And to think that he had called it a game. It was simply unbelievable. How could someone be so callous about taking people's lives?

"So, I was in the woods, tied up? He must have left me to..." Brock shuddered. "Thank goodness you found me. How did you manage to do that?"

"Something brought our balloon crashing down," Jessie spoke somewhat sourly. "Whatever it was, it would have been nice if it had just come up to us and asked instead."

"I wonder what it was? Nobody saw it, right?" James asked. Ash, Jessie and Meowth shook their heads. "Neither did I. It must have been something really strange."

"I can't believe he was able to pull it off so well." Brock folded his arms and sighed heavily. "Whoever this kid is, he must have done his research. Then again, I suppose I should have seen it. He did seem a bit too distant and cold, but I just blamed that on the fact Pikachu was dead."

"Actually, Pikachu might be alive," Meowth pointed out. "We didn't find anything on that mountain to suggest Pikachu was hurt. All we found was a cage."

"Yeah, so hopefully we'll find it," said Ash. "I'm sure we will." He hardly dared to think about the alternative, instead clinging to the hope that Pikachu was alive and well somewhere.

Brock frowned. "You mean he lied about the blood and everything? I can't imagine what that kid is thinking. He's completely crazy. This isn't the first time he's pretended to be you, Ash."

"It's not?" Ash blinked curiously. "He's done something like this before? When did he do that?"

"A while ago. We were talking to Professor Oak on the phone and he told us about this boy who was absolutely identical to you and he turned up at your house one day," Brock explained. "Your mother served him lunch and then he left. She thought it was you the whole time and he never once bothered to correct her."

"Jeez, that fake twerp's got some nerve," James couldn't help muttering.

"It takes a lot of nerve to go around trying to kill people," Jessie pointed out, giving him a dry look. "Good thing he's so bad at it."

"I wouldn't say he's bad at it. The twerps are just insanely lucky," Meowth commented. "Well, the twerpette wasn't that lucky, but a coma's better than death."

"And to think that the whole time during that phone call, the impostor was standing right next to us," Brock said in a disgusted voice. "It was right after that phone call that Dawn had an accident. Except it wasn't an accident, was it?"

"No," Ash said simply. "It wasn't."

Brock put a hand to his forehead in despair. "He must have flung her over that balcony when she figured out that he wasn't you. No wonder Piplup was acting so worked up around him. I wish I had realised it sooner."

"Don't feel so bad. You couldn't have known." Ash could see that Brock was feeling somewhat guilty about the ordeal and wished he could make him feel better about it. "Now that you know, we can all work together to find that impostor and deal with him once and for all. Do you think he's still on the way to Pallet Town?"

"He said he was going to deal with me first." Brock dropped his hand, seeming alarmed. "That means there has to be a second, doesn't it? I think I know who it is."

Ash also knew who Brock meant. "Dawn."

"This whole going home thing was a ruse. Why would he leave Dawn in that coma when she could wake up at any time and expose his secret? He must have been planning to get rid of me then go back and deal with her all along." Brock clenched a fist.

"He's going to finish her off for good, huh?" James asked quietly. "This isn't good."

"We've got to get back to fixing that balloon!" Jessie exclaimed, standing up. "Let's hurry. I don't want that obnoxious fake twerp to get away with murder."

As Team Rocket hurried away to get to work on the balloon, Brock spoke again. "Her mother's with her, so hopefully she's safe for now, but I'm still worried. He's obviously not a stupid kid. It's frightening how masterfully he could pull off something like this."

Ash watched Team Rocket working on the balloon repairs, silently praying that they would get to the hospital in time.

* * *

Johanna walked toward the front doors of the hospital, the cold air greeting her as the doors slid open. She looked toward the horizon where the sun cast a pinkish hue across the sky. It was about time to go and eat a meal and she was going to look for a place to eat in his town. Had she known the danger of leaving her daughter alone in that hospital room, she would immediately have turned around and hurried back to her side.

A certain dark-haired boy was standing outside the hospital, wearing a hooded jacket to conceal his identity. He watched Johanna walk away into the street, a cold smile etched on his face.

"It's about time," Reed muttered, turning to the doors and walking through them into the hospital. He had been waiting a long time for Johanna to leave and was glad to finally have the chance to deal with that irritating girl. This was surely going to be a piece of cake.

Reed soon reached the room where Dawn slept and stepped inside, glancing at the young girl who slept deeply in the bed. He hastily walked to the window and pulled the blind across it, ensuring nobody would be able to see what was happening in the room. It simply would not do to be caught in the act.

"Pip!" an angry voice cried out. Piplup hopped off the bed, looking threateningly at the intruder.

"Do we really have to go through this again?" Reed asked tiredly. "Well, there's no other choice, is there?" He pulled a Poké Ball from his jacket pocket. "Jolteon, come out." The red and white sphere opened up, letting out a flash of white light that took on the form of the lightning Pokémon.

Piplup took a step back in alarm, its spirits sinking. It didn't want to fail Dawn again, but what could it do against the electric Pokémon?

"Jolteon, take him out with your strongest electric attack," Reed ordered. "Be careful not to hit anything though, we don't want to make a mess in here."

Jolteon immediately sprang upon Piplup, pinning it to the floor before it even had a chance to react. A flow of currents passed from the electric Pokémon into the smaller Pokémon's body until it passed out and went limp.

"Good job, Jolteon." Reed approached the bed, gazing down at Dawn's peaceful face. "You thought you were safe, didn't you? Well, not anymore. Don't worry, you're not going to be alone on the other side. Ash is there, and Brock should be soon if he isn't already. He was kind of getting on my nerves anyway."

The boy fell silent, sighing. "You only have yourself to blame, you know. If it wasn't for your meddling, none of this would have had to happen. It would have been better if you'd died when you were supposed to."

There wasn't much time to waste. Reed knew he had to act quickly. "Well, this is it. Goodbye." He reached out to grasp the pillow beneath Dawn's head, his pulse racing furiously as he prepared to silence her for good.


	15. Chapter 15

**Mirror Image**

* * *

Reed's hand had just closed over the edge of the pillow, creasing the soft fabric when a breathy voice whispered into his mind.

_Stop._

The strange voice caused Reed to stop and let go of the pillow. His forehead creased in a quizzical frown as he slowly looked over his shoulder, his brown eyes darting around the room in nervousness. There was nobody else in the room, which he knew well enough, as he would surely have heard somebody come in.

"Huh. I suppose it must have just been my imagination," Reed muttered, cursing himself for getting carried away. He couldn't afford to be afraid now, not when he needed to silence this girl once and for all. The boy took hold of the pillow once more and prepared to pull it away from beneath Dawn's head.

_I mean it. Stop this right now._

A gasp issued from Reed's throat and he let go again, taking a cautious step back from the bed. Maybe that voice wasn't his imagination at all. He looked toward Jolteon, who was still standing over Piplup in case it woke up. "Jolteon, did you hear that?"

Jolteon turned toward him, tilting its head in confusion. Clearly, it had no idea what its trainer was talking about.

"So you can't hear it?" Reed bit his lower lip in anxiety, his heart pounding in his chest. He did not like how this was starting to turn out in the least. "If you can't hear that voice, is it just in my mind?" He shook his head, scarcely wishing to believe it. It would mean he was surely starting to lose his mind and such a prospect was not appealing. "No, there's got to be an explanation for it. I can't just be imagining it."

_Do you really wish for your life to go in this direction? _the voice asked, sounding harsh. _Can't you see that what you are doing is wrong. For your sake, you must stop acting like this!_

Reed turned around rapidly, looking frantically around the room and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "What are you?" he exclaimed in an alarmed voice, backing away until his back met with the wall. "What do you want with me?"

_I want you to stop and think about what you are doing. It is foolish to keep acting in this way._

"No... I won't stop! I can't... just leave me alone!" Reed burst out, his fingers gripping his head. His breath whistled through his tightly clenched teeth. "Go away," he whispered, "just go away!"

"Jolt," Jolteon whined, padding over to him and looking up with wide, anxious eyes.

"Something is talking to me." Reed was beginning to feel scared now. He had no idea what it was or where it was and that made him afraid. "I don't even know what it is." The boy looked toward the bed, his spirits sinking. He knew it was trying to prevent him from getting rid of the girl, just when he had been so close, and that was frustrating.

_Listen to me. You are going down a very dark path that will only end in your ruin. To take a life is the ultimate wrong. Don't you see this?_

"I don't care!" Reed exclaimed hysterically. "I'll do whatever I must do in order to make this work. All I wanted was to have the perfect life. Why won't you just leave me alone?"

_The perfect life? _For a second, it sounded as if the owner of the voice was coldly amused. _There is no such thing as a perfect life. Everyone has their troubles and pretending to be another person isn't going to get rid of that. This is nothing more than a foolish and dangerous fantasy of yours. Don't you see that it's not going to work? The girl figured it out, and she wouldn't have been the only one to do so. In the end, your plan would fall to pieces and you would be in unimaginable trouble._

"Shut up!" Reed screamed, slamming a fist against the wall. His chest heaved as he quietly started to sob, tears forming in his eyes. "It is going to work, it has to! So what if I need to make a few sacrifices? It will be worth it in the end."

_You cannot possibly make this work, no matter how hard you are trying. Look at all the things you've done just to try and keep your secret safe. You are fast spiralling out of control and it's only going to get worse from this point._

"Just go away!" Reed shouted, slowly sinking to the floor and gasping for breath. He buried his head in his hands, his body shaking wildly. Why was this strange thing tormenting him like this? What was this voice that he had never heard before? Whoever it belonged to, they knew his secret and what he was doing. How could it even be possible?

"Jolteon..." Jolteon whined again, reaching forward to lick at Reed's cheek comfortingly. It hated to see its trainer in such distress and tried its best to give him the reassurance that he needed.

_You can no longer carry on like this and I will not allow you to. This foolishness of yours is not going to continue anymore, do you understand? If you try to harm the girl again, I will stop you in any way I must._

Reed drew in a sharp breath. It was just as he had feared, the owner of the voice would indeed attempt to harm him should he try to carry out his plan any further. It was obviously dangerous and he had the urge to get far away from it before it could do anything to him, which meant he needed to get out of the building as soon as possible.

"Jolteon, we're getting out of here," Reed said, taking its Poké Ball and holding it up. "Return." A red beam shot from the Poké Ball, striking Jolteon, and it disappeared inside. He put the Poké Ball back inside his pocket and stood up, throwing a rueful glance toward Dawn. "Well, I guess you're going to be living for a bit longer after all. Consider yourself lucky."

How could it have turned out like this? Reed marched toward the door, burning inside with fury. He had been so close to getting rid of that girl forever and keeping his secret safe, only to be stopped at the last second. Of course he wasn't going to try again, knowing that the owner of some unseen voice who even knew his secrets was probably incredibly dangerous. It was better to just get out of here and hope that whatever it was didn't come after him.

Reed marched through the hospital corridors with his head hung low and his hands jammed into his pockets. His anger was fading, only to be replaced with misery. So much for keeping the secret safe. That girl could wake up at any time and then his secret would be blown. Everyone would know that he was a fake and everything he had done would amount to nothing. How could it be possible that someone or something knew what he was up to? What kind of being could even speak only to his mind? Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn't human, but then if it was a Pokémon, it had to be an unbelievably powerful one he had never even heard of.

As he stepped through the doors of the hospital, the cold air blasted him in the face. Reed slumped against the wall, clenching his fists and feeling hot tears rush to the surface of his eyes. Why couldn't anything go right for him anymore? It just wasn't fair, especially after he had worked so hard to make everything work out.

Everything that he had worked for, all that time spent planning, it could be wasted in a second. All that girl needed to do was wake up and tell somebody what was going on. If only he hadn't screwed up by calling that professor and inadvertently revealing his existence to Brock and Dawn, then that stupid girl wouldn't have figured out he was the fake.

"Damn it." Tears slipped from his eyes and coursed down his cheeks, splashing onto the ground below. Reed's vision blurred as he stared down at his feet, swallowing heavily. "Damn it all. I can't do a thing right anymore, can I? I'm such a screwup." A bitter laugh forced its way out of his throat, followed by another sob.

"At least I did one thing right," Reed murmured, his mouth stretching in a shaky smile. "I got rid of Ash. He had the perfect life, didn't he? People loved him and he was happy... but he doesn't have a life anymore, because I took it." Reed laughed again, this time more shrilly. "Yes, I took his life away from him. It served him right."

Out the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a young man standing in the street and watching him with an alarmed expression. Obviously the man was thinking that he had gone crazy. Reed shot an annoyed glare at the man. "Is there a problem?"

The man just mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and hastily walked away. Reed watched his retreating back until he could no longer see him and then rested his head against the wall, letting out a long sigh. He really needed to keep himself together right now since losing it would do him no good. It was important to focus and try to think rationally about the situation at hand.

His plan to get rid of Dawn had failed and he knew he wouldn't be able to go back into that building and try again. It would be better to just leave the town as soon as possible and hope the thing that had scared him off in the hospital wouldn't follow him. Reed started to walk away from the hospital, nervously glancing over his shoulder. He didn't see anything strange and nobody appeared to be following him so maybe he was safe for now.

It was quite disappointing to be walking out of the town knowing that the girl was still alive back there. His plan should have been so simple and easy. All he had to do was go into that hospital and kill the girl, then leave without anybody seeing him. The mother wouldn't have suspected him because she thought he was on his way home and she wouldn't have any reason to suspect the person she assumed was her daughter's friend.

Because of his plan to return and take out the girl, it had been necessary to deal with Brock. If they had still been here when Dawn suddenly died, there might have been questions. It already looked suspicious enough that he had been alone with Dawn when she was flung off the balcony and he didn't need any more suspicion to be cast upon himself. Had Reed returned back here while they were supposed to be on the road, Brock would have been wondering where he had got to. It had been better to simply get rid of him in the end.

The only thing Reed could do now was pray that Dawn never woke up. If she didn't, his secret would surely be safe for a little while longer. He doubted that Brock's disappearance would cause too much trouble. All he had to do was make up some excuse to cover for it and it would be fine, provided nobody ever found him. Why would they? He had left him to die in the woods in the middle of nowhere and was sure he had done a good job of it.

Just outside the town, there was a wooden bench. Reed approached the bench and sank down into it, dislodging the green backpack he wore and dropping it onto the empty space next to him. He rested against the back of the bench, gazing dully up at the sky, which was beginning to turn a gloomy dark blue.

Right now, he just felt so hopeless. Knowing that Dawn was still alive, he couldn't just turn his back on the issue and forget about it. Yet, there wasn't anything he could do about it. What was he meant to do? There was nobody he could even talk to about this. He was truly alone, without a friend in the world.

Was this the kind of thing he had been working so hard for? The experience of sitting alone on a bench, feeling completely lost and hopeless? All he seemed to be doing was trying to kill people and working so hard to keep his secret safe. This wasn't the kind of thing he had been hoping for. All he had wanted was a happy life with friends and family who cared about him, and it looked so far off.

Things should have been easy, but this plan of his had turned out to be even more trouble than it was worth. How many more people were going to have to die at his hands before things worked out for him, if ever?Now he was alone again, even though taking over Ash's life was supposed to be a solution to that problem. Trying to kill Ash's friends hadn't exactly helped the problem. It wasn't like he had been planning it in the first place. Ash was the only one who was supposed to die.

A chilly wind sharply blew past, causing Reed to shiver. He pulled his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, burying his face in his knees. Tears prickled the surface of his eyes and he quietly sniffled. Why couldn't things have gone right? Why did that stupid girl have to figure out that he was an impostor? If it wasn't for her meddling, things might have actually gone right for him.

A dull thud hitting the ground nearby caught his attention and Reed sharply looked up to see what looked like a giant balloon shaped like a Meowth's head, attached to a basket. It didn't take long to remember that it belonged to those people who were always following Ash and his friends around and called themselves Team Rocket.

What did those clowns want now? No doubt they were going to attempt to rob him of what Pokémon he had, the boy suspected. He quickly got up from the bench, cautiously watching the basket. It was difficult to see who was in there, but he was sure that man, woman and their freaky talking Meowth were there just like always.

"What do you want?" Reed exclaimed loudly, clenching his fists. He really was not in the mood to deal with those lame losers right now and wished they would just move on and go and find some other targets to bother.

"Listen, is that a twerpish voice I hear?" a feminine voice rang out.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," a masculine voice joined in.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" chimed in the small feline Pokémon who stood between the two.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."

"Dashing hope, bringing fear in its place."

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet."

"When everything's worse, our work is complete."

The woman leaped from the basket and struck a dramatic pose. "Jessie!"

The man jumped from the basket as well, standing next to her and assuming the same pose. "James!"

Meowth sprang out and landed deftly on the ground between them, raising his paws and grinning. "And Meowth, now dat's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."

"Team Rocket..."

"We're in your face!" the three chorused.

Reed drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and reached up to rub his forehead. He hated how these people had to announce their presence with an annoying motto all the time. Now he remembered that Ash's life couldn't be called perfect, not when he had to put up with these people on a daily basis, but it was still better than his own. "You know, I am really not in the mood to deal with this right now," he said in a loud voice. "How about you just-"

"You haven't done anything to Dawn, have you?" exclaimed an angry sounding deep male voice. The sound of that voice caused Reed's insides to grow cold. He knew who the owner of that voice was, and yet, he shouldn't even be here. Reed watched on with wide eyes as Brock stepped out of the basket.

How could it even be possible? He had to be dreaming... hadn't he left Brock tied up where nobody could have possibly found him? Right now, he should be lying there and slowly dying of starvation because he couldn't do anything about it. Reed trembled violently, taking a step back. What was going on here?

Was this some kind of nightmare he was experiencing where all of a sudden nothing was going right for him? It had to be a nightmare. How could Brock possibly be safe and alive? It shouldn't have been possible for those people to find him, unless they had been following them, and Reed was sure he hadn't noticed any Meowth shaped balloons around lately.

"I asked you a question," Brock spoke firmly. "Did you do anything to Dawn? I know that it was you who pushed her off the balcony. How could you even do that to her? She could have died!"

Reed couldn't even bring himself to speak as he was seized in the grip of terror. It didn't even matter whether he had killed that girl or not anymore. His entire plan was lying before him in ruins, utterly destroyed and impossible to salvage. Brock probably knew by now he was the impostor. Why would Ash ever try to kill his own friend? It didn't help that he had tried to kill Brock either.

"No," the boy eventually whispered in a faint voice, looking down toward his feet. He felt a sinking feeling within his gut. It was all over now and he was going to suffer for his mistake. "I didn't do anything to her."

All that hard work had amounted to nothing in the end. What had it all been for? Reed was starting to wish now that he hadn't even bothered, that he had just carried on with the life after he was thrown out of his home. It had been a lot less troublesome.

"You are despicable, you know that?" Brock shouted. "You tried to take over somebody else's life and just killed people whenever you felt like it? What is wrong with you?"

A hysterical laugh bubbled out of Reed's throat and a maniacal smile stretched itself across his face. He just didn't care anymore. This whole situation was so ridiculous that he felt he could just lose his own mind and not be bothered by it. "Nothing matters anymore. You can't do anything about it, you know. Ash is dead."

"Think again," another voice called out. It was a voice that Reed knew very well, it being the same as his own. He looked on in horror as somebody else emerged from the basket. "I'm certainly not dead."

"No..." Reed whispered, trembling violently as he stared at the familiar figure who was unmistakably Ash. His vision blurred as a dizzy spell took over for a brief few seconds and his mouth felt intensely dry. The person who he had pushed down a mountain was standing right there before him.

His plan had been a failure from the very start. It had all been a complete waste of time and a sham all because he had failed to kill the one person who was supposed to die.

"Who are you? What was so great about my life that you had to try and take it away, huh?" Ash shouted, clenching a fist and struggling not to march over and drive it into the face of the person who had tried to kill him and his friends. Violence was not going to solve anything, he knew that much. "What's wrong with your own life?"

Reed remained silent, his body shivering with shock and anger. He just could not find the words to say. Everything had suddenly turned out so wrong, like a nightmare that he only wished he could wake up from.

"Aren't you going to tell me who you are? Why do you look just like me?" Ash exclaimed.

"I wish I knew," Reed spat out sourly, throwing him a hateful glare. "You have a great life, with family and friends who all care about you. What have I got? Nothing." He trailed off, biting down on his lower lip. "I'm just a freak."

'I can explain,' a new voice spoke.

Everyone looked up at the sound of the voice, catching sight of a large purplish feline Pokémon hovering in the air and watching them with a sharp gaze.

"Is that Mewtwo?" James stared at the familiar figure in disbelief.

"What would Mewtwo be doing here?" Jessie asked, frowning in confusion.

"Mewtwo...?" Ash murmured. As he continued to look at Mewtwo, he realised that he did seem quite familiar. Vague memories of a lake rose up in his mind.

"That voice..." Reed backed away in alarm. "It was you!"

'I apologise for taking so long to turn up. It was only recently I came to learn what was happening.' Mewtwo looked from Ash to Reed, sighing. 'I was hoping that the two of you would never come to meet, but it seems you did after all.'

"You know what's going on here?" Brock asked, sounding surprised. "Does that mean you have something to do with this?"

'The first time we met... it was not at Clear Lake,' Mewtwo said. 'It was at a place called New Island, four years ago. This boy here was brought into this world as a helpless newborn and I sent him away to be cared for by humans...'

"Hold on!" Meowth snapped. "Four years ago? You can't be serious!"

"That's impossible! There's no way that kid is four," Jessie argued.

'It is true,' Mewtwo stated. He stared at Reed, who was watching him with a stunned expression. 'You are no ordinary human being. To age so much in just four years... the humans must have been afraid of you. They treated you wrong, didn't they?'

Reed lowered his head, tears prickling his eyes. He didn't want to dredge up the memories of how horribly those people had treated him before finally kicking him out and leaving him to fend for himself. Why had he been punished so much for something that wasn't his fault?

"What is going on, Mewtwo?" Ash asked impatiently. "Why does he look just like me?"

'I was capturing the Pokémon that belonged to you and the other trainers there in order to create an army of clones. It was those Pokémon that you saw at Clear Lake," Mewtwo explained. "You were so desperate to save Pikachu that you must have jumped into the machine to save it. That machine was what created the clones... and it also cloned you."

Ash was left reeling with shock. He was the reason that boy existed. That boy had come from him. This entire situation had happened all because of him. Ash looked down toward his feet, feeling a small stab of guilt. To think that his determination to save Pikachu had resulted in all this.

'Don't blame yourself, Ash. The one to blame is me. I sent him to be with humans so that he could live a proper life,' Mewtwo said quickly. 'If I had done things differently, this situation may never have happened at all.'

"It can't be... you're saying that I exist... because of him?" Reed shook his head in despair. He just didn't want to believe that it was true, but it had to be. That was the explanation for his aging rapidly in four years. He was not a normal human being, but an inferior copy of Ash. "That can't be!" The horrified boy turned and started to run off, no longer wishing to be around them. He had learned far too much tonight and was sick of it.

"Hey, get back here!" Ash shouted after him. "Tell me what you did with Pikachu!"

'You seek Pikachu?' Mewtwo spoke, stopping Ash before he could chase after Reed. Ash looked at him, nodding. 'I sense its presence quite close by.'

"You do?" Jessie and James couldn't help exclaiming in excited voices.

"Alive?" Meowth asked hopefully.

'Yes...' Mewtwo looked toward the green backpack sitting upon the bench. 'I believe it may be inside that bag, in its Poké Ball."

Ash hurried over to the bench, frantically unzipping the backpack and rummaging through the contents until his hands closed around a cluster of several small Poké Balls. He held them up in his hands, gazing quizzically at the red and white spheres. "Pikachu... which one are you in?" A marking on one of the Poké Balls caught his eye and he looked closer. It was hard to tell, but it seemed to be in the shape of a lightning bolt.

A joyful smile spread across his face. Pikachu was right here, in his hands. Ash hastily put the other Poké Balls back in the bag and enlarged Pikachu's Poké Ball, prodding the button to make it open up. It popped open and white light streamed from inside, flowing to the ground and taking on the form of Pikachu.

Pikachu shook himself and blinked sleepily, looking somewhat dazed. "Pika?" he murmured in a small, confused sounding voice. What was he doing outside of the Poké Ball after all this time? It had been oddly comforting inside that dark prison, dwelling on his pain all alone after seeing his beloved trainer die.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed happily. As the electric mouse turned to face him, he dropped to his knees and held out his arms to embrace him.

Pikachu's immediate reaction was to flatten his ears and back away while issuing a warning growl and baring his teeth. "Chuuuu..."

"Huh, Pikachu, what's wrong?" Ash recoiled in shock, startled by the unexpected reaction. Then it occurred to him that Pikachu had him confused with his lookalike, which was hardly surprising if it had been there to see him be thrown down that mountain. "It's okay, Pikachu, it's me," he spoke in a more gentle tone, holding out his hand.

"Pi?" Pikachu cautiously sniffed at the offered hand. This scent was unmistakably that of his own trainer, which surely had to mean it was him. His gaze shifted toward Ash's face, taking in his warm smile and eyes full of compassion. "Pi... ka... pi..." he whispered in wonderment, tears of delight forming in his eyes. "Pikapi!"

As Pikachu flung himself at his trainer's chest, Ash wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in Pikachu's soft yellow fur. "Oh, Pikachu, thank goodness you're okay. I was so worried about you and I missed you so much."

"Aww, this reunion is so heartwarming, it brings a tear to my eye." Meowth wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm so happy to see Pikachu again."

"Same here. It's nice to know we've still got a job," James said, grinning. "I can't imagine what life would be like without trying to capture Pikachu all the time."

"Yeah, it's great that Pikachu's back, but isn't there still something that needs to be dealt with?" Jessie spoke up.

"Of course. We can't let that clone get away, not after everything he's done," Brock said sternly. "Shouldn't we be going after him?"

Ash got to his feet, holding Pikachu in his arms and looking serious. "I'll go after him," he stated, eyes blazing with determination, "it's up to me to settle things." He turned and took off along the path that Reed had taken, running as fast as he could.

"Ash!" Brock exclaimed, but the boy did not even look back. "He's certainly reckless..."

'Don't worry,' Mewtwo said calmly as he gazed off into the distance where Ash had gone. 'It will be fine.'

Ash continued to run until he eventually caught sight of a person kneeling not far from the side of the road, sitting on the ground with their arms around what appeared to be a Pokémon. As he came closer, he realised that the person was the very same he had been pursuing.

"What do you want?" Reed yelled as he got to his feet. His face was wet with tear stains. "Just leave me alone! I hate you!"

Ash fell silent, momentarily stung by the words. How could it be that someone he didn't even know hated him so much? He could tell that the other boy positively loathed him.

"You... you're the reason that I exist!" Reed continued shouting. "I had to suffer a miserable life from birth all because of you!" He broke off, choking back a sob.

"That doesn't excuse anything that you did," Ash said angrily. "You tried to kill me and my friends, and even try to claim my life. Dawn is in a coma because of what you did to her! Even if you had a bad life, I can't forgive you for what you did!"

"Well, that's fine, because I can't forgive you either," Reed spoke in a cold voice. "Jolteon, use Thunderbolt."

"Pikachu, you use Thunderbolt as well!" Ash ordered. Pikachu leaped off his shoulder and immediately sent out a large jolt of electricity that met with Jolteon's in mid-air, resulting in a small explosion.

"Oh, so you found Pikachu, did you?" Reed stared at Pikachu's silhouette with distaste. "You wanted to save him so badly, you had to go and create a copy of yourself in the process. How does it feel knowing you're the one truly responsible for everything that happened?"

"Just shut up!" Ash yelled, clenching his fists. "I just can't believe that somebody like you could possibly have come from me. You're nothing like me at all! You're just... evil! You think it's okay to go around killing people whenever you feel like it. It's just disgusting."

"I hate people," Reed snapped. "Nobody ever cared about me, not even the people who raised me when I was a baby. Why should I care about them? Jolteon, use Pin Missiile!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu quickly ran forward, dodging the missiles that rained down around him and he leaped off the ground and plowed into Jolteon, sending it flying back and crashing into the ground.

"Heh, you're good... of course I know that well." Reed smirked. "Jolteon, hold on. Don't let that pathetic rat win! Use your Thunder Fang now!"

"Block it with Iron Tail!"

Jolteon lunged forward, its mouth open wide and teeth crackling with electricity. Pikachu hurriedly swung his glowing white tail around and the larger Pokémon's jaws clamped down uselessly on it.

"Now hit it away with the Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu span around in mid-air, the Iron Tail swinging around and connecting directly with Jolteon's head. Jolteon barely landed on its feet as it went flying, wincing in pain.

"Use Pin Missile again!" Reed called out. It was useless to go on with electric attacks, especially with a Pokémon as powerful as Pikachu, and he was fast running out of options.

"Dodge it with Agility!" Ash said quickly.

Pikachu began to run as fast as he could while the missiles rained down around him. A few glanced off his body, but he merely shrugged off the pain and kept running. Jolteon looked around frantically, struggling to keep track of the speeding mouse as he ran round it.

"Now finish it off with Quick Attack!" Ash clenched a fist, smiling confidently. Ordering Pikachu around in battle was so natural to him that his memory problems didn't even hinder him. Already, he could remember so well the many battles he had fought in the past with Pikachu. This one was going to be a piece of cake.

Reed watched on in horror as Pikachu plowed head on straight into Jolteon, scoring a direct hit. The larger Pokémon went rolling over the ground and crashed into a heap. Moments later, it weakly struggled to its feet. The boy knew that there was no point in continuing. Pikachu appeared to be getting a little worn out, but it still had enough fight in it to finish this battle if it needed to.

"That's enough, Jolteon," Reed spoke quietly. "It's over."

"Good job, Pikachu!" Ash cheered, holding out his arms. Pikachu turned back and ran to jump into his embrace, smiling happily.

"I've had enough of this... I give up." Reed turned around and started walking, his head hung low.

"Wait a minute!" Ash shouted, but he continued to walk off and didn't even look back once. "Ugh... why does he keep doing that? We're not going to let him get away, Pikachu, not after everything he did. We'll drag him back and call Officer Jenny, and she'll put him where he belongs."

Ash took off after Reed, soon spotting him just standing still with his back to him. He could hear the sound of waves crashing and breaking against a rock face far below.

"All those years I wondered who I was and why I grew up so fast. The people who were supposed to raise me and care for me hated me and called me a freak. I didn't have anybody who cared about me. If it hadn't been for you jumping into that machine, I never would have had to exist." Reed turned around, looking toward Ash. Tears streamed freely down his face. "I really wish you hadn't."

Ash was trying to find the words to say when Reed suddenly fell backwards, his entire body vanishing below the cliff. A heavy splash followed moments later and then there was silence.


	16. Chapter 16

**Mirror Image**

* * *

The water below rushed up to meet the boy's falling body as he plummeted from the edge of the cliff. His eyes were closed tightly as he waited for his inevitable fate, welcoming the blessed death that he would surely receive. He plunged into the icy cold water and allowed himself to sink beneath the surface, releasing all the breath in his lungs in the hope of dying even quicker. The sensation of water pulling down his body suddenly went away and he no longer felt intensely cold. Reed drew in a breath and moved his limbs around, realising that he could no longer feel the water around him anymore. Had he already managed to die? No, that could not be it. His eyes flew open and he looked around at the murky gloom through a shimmering wall that surrounded him. It appeared that he was being contained within some kind of strange bubble that was protecting him from the water.

_What are you doing?_ Mewtwo's voice spoke to him, startling Reed. _Are you seriously attempting to take your own life?_

Reed clenched his teeth in frustration, kicking furiously against the bubble and doing nothing to it. "Why won't you just let me do what I want?" he screamed. Why couldn't he just be left to die in peace? His own life was worthless to him and he no longer wanted anything to do with this tiresome and pathetic world. Surely it would be better for him to just die.

_You really want to die and throw away the precious gift of life that has been given to you? Is there really nothing in this world that is worth living for?_

"No... I'm sick of it... just let me die!" Reed choked out. "Why do you even care if I live or die? I should just leave this world forever. I am so tired of living." He curled up in a tight ball, tears continuing to leak from his eyes. "Just let me go."

_Why do you want to do something so selfish? Do you not care about the pain you will cause to your dear friend Jolteon if you leave this world? It is standing at the edge of that cliff right now, crying out for you. How can you do that to it?_

The young boy felt a tightening in his gut as he thought of the Pokémon who had stood by his side for so long. It had been his only friend and he did care a great deal about it. "I don't know what to do!" he choked out, grabbing his head with his hands. "I made so many mistakes... I never should have bothered in the first place. I thought I would be able to have a better life, but in the end it just wasn't working out. I might as well just die. I'm just a worthless clone."

_Being a clone is no reason to hate yourself. I should know... I am one._

"You are?" Reed whispered in surprise.

_Yes. I was created in a laboratory and I was intended to be nothing more than a tool to serve humans. This bad human tried to use me... but I escaped. I thought that humans were nothing more than vile creatures. I despised them for creating me. It took me a long time to figure out what my true purpose was and in the end, I came to realise that not all humans were bad, thanks to Ash. I did many wrong things in the beginning, I even... killed humans. I understand the misery you must be going through at the knowledge of what you really are. Still, you are a human, just like the rest of them and like all humans, you should be allowed to live freely in the world._

"But I don't want to!" Reed exclaimed, pounding a fist against the bubble in frustration. "I can't... I did terrible things... and I don't want to have to live with the pain of what I went through anymore."

_You don't have to live with the pain. I can help you._

"Help me?" Reed repeated incredulously. "How can you possibly help me? Why do you even want to do that?"

_Because I want to make up for what I did. I should have been more careful with making my decision. In the end, I failed to do what was best for you and because of that, you turned out this way. _

The bubble suddenly started to rise until it emerged from the surface of the water. Reed gazed up at the top of the cliff as it loomed ever closer, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. He was so confused. Why did Mewtwo so badly want to save him? After all he had done, he would have thought that nobody would even care if he died, with the exception of his only friend. Such compassion was indeed surprising.

Reed was placed safely on the side of the cliff and the bubble disappeared. Jolteon flung itself at his chest with a cry of delight and he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around it tightly. "Jolteon... I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have tried to leave you alone." The electric Pokémon fervently licked him. He looked up to see Mewtwo standing before him and Ash standing next to the tall psychic Pokémon.

'Ash,' Mewtwo spoke, turning his head toward the young Pokémon trainer. 'I know that he has done a lot of wrong to you and your friends. You feel that he should be punished for his crimes, don't you?'

Ash was still reeling from the shock of seeing Reed attempting to kill himself, so it took him a while to speak. "He could have killed us, Mewtwo. Dawn's still in a coma because of him. Shouldn't he be taken to the police?"

'Humans who do wrong are locked behind bars, aren't they? Of course, it does sound like a fitting punishment for those kind of humans.' Mewtwo turned his gaze toward Reed, who was watching them with a slightly fearful expression. 'However, this boy has been punished enough in his life already. How cruelly does a child have to be treated in order to turn out this way? It isn't normal for one so young, is it?'

"But that still doesn't make what he did right!" Ash exclaimed. "We can't just let him go... what if he hurts more people?" The thought of Reed coming after him and his friends again was not something he wanted to contemplate. This clone of his had already caused too much trouble.

'Don't worry, I am not suggesting we let him go. I will take him away and he will never bother you or your friends again. He will start a new life somewhere else where I will watch over him and he can be happy. My power makes a lot of things possible. Does that sound fair?' Mewtwo asked, glancing toward Ash again. 'Look at it this way, you and your friends are alive. He hasn't managed to do any permanent harm. Is there really any point in sending him away to a place where his suffering will only be prolonged?'

Ash looked away, heaving his shoulders and sighing. He supposed Mewtwo had a point, but it was hard to see it his way at the moment. "I suppose you might be right, but all those things he did, they were still wrong." He wasn't ready to forgive and forget after all that had happened.

'I am sorry if you don't agree with it, but I must do this for him.' Mewtwo walked toward Reed. 'Will you come with me?'

Reed inclined his head in a nod, taking Jolteon's Poké Ball and recalling it. As Mewtwo held out a hand toward him, Reed reached out to take hold of it.

'Farewell, Ash,' Mewtwo spoke. 'Perhaps we will meet again sometime soon under better circumstances.' He rose up into the sky with Reed and they faded out with a flash of light.

Ash stared at the empty space where they had disappeared with a troubled expression on his face. "I just hope I don't have to see that guy again," he muttered. "At least going off with Mewtwo is better than killing himself. I can't believe he actually tried to do that." He knelt down and scooped up Pikachu in his arms. "Alright then, Pikachu, let's go back now before everyone starts worrying about us."

Brock, Jessie, James and Meowth were all waiting for him near the entrance to the town where he had left them.

"Ash, where is he?" Brock asked immediately, approaching the younger boy. "You didn't lose him, did you?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I caught up with him and we battled for a bit. I was going to bring him back here and we'd take him to the police, but Mewtwo had other ideas about what to do with him. He took him away instead."

"Eh?" Jessie exclaimed in disbelief. "You mean that brat's not going to pay for all the trouble he's been causing? He even had the nerve to to go and do our job for us."

"Your job?" Ash repeated, looking at her blankly. "What do you mean he did your job for you?"

"Um, we'll explain another time." James didn't think now was a good time to be jogging his memory. "So if Mewtwo's taken him away, I suppose that means we're not going to be seeing him again?"

"If I never have to see him again, that will be just fine." Ash exhaled heavily, his eyes narrowing. "He actually tried to take his own life. If only I hadn't brought him into this world. He shouldn't have had to endure so much pain his whole life."

"Whoah, he seriously did that?" Meowth blinked. "Why would anybody want to kill themselves? It makes no sense to me."

"Wow, that is seriously crazy. Hopefully Mewtwo will do a good job of watching over him," Brock said. "At least we don't have to deal with him anymore. It's getting late, so shall we head over to the Pokémon Center now, Ash?"

"Alright." Ash nodded. He looked at Team Rocket. "Well, I just want to say thanks again for helping me out. If it hadn't been for you guys, who knows what would have happened?"

"Aw, don't worry about it, twerp. We would do anything for Pikachu after all." Jessie smiled. "Just take better care of yourself from now on, won't you?"

"We'll be seeing you again very soon," James assured, as the Team Rocket trio jumped into the balloon. It lifted up into the air and drifted away into the night sky.

Once the balloon had disappeared, Brock turned toward Ash with a puzzled look. "Hey, Ash, did you hit your head when you fell down the mountain? You must know what they meant by him doing their job, right?"

"Um... well, actually, I did hit it pretty hard when I fell and I lost my memory," Ash responded sheepishly. "It's not too bad. I can remember a few things now, but there's still quite a lot missing. How do we know those guys again?"

"They are Team Rocket. They try to steal Pikachu on a daily basis." Brock gestured at the electric mouse Pokémon. "Though sometimes they aren't all that bad. This just happened to be one of those times. Don't be surprised if they turn up tomorrow and attack us."

"Oh... I see." Ash frowned, seeming confused despite the explanation. "I still have a lot to remember. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all back."

"It's okay. I'll help you." Brock placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now let's get to the Pokémon Center, shall we? Don't forget your backpack."

At the Pokémon Center, Ash later went to their room after finishing dinner. He threw himself down on the bed, gazing up at the bottom of the top bunk. "So much has happened, hasn't it, Pikachu? It's all been so crazy."

"Pika." Pikachu crawled onto his belly, settling down and gazing at his trainer's face.

"It's a lot to take in, for sure. I could have lost everything because some crazy clone wanted to take it all away from me." Ash reached out and stroked Pikachu's back. "He caused so much trouble for all of us. I lost my memory, Dawn ended up in a coma, Brock was almost murdered too... we could all have died because of his actions."

"Chu," Pikachu murmured faintly, sadness showing on his face.

"You must have been really miserable without me, huh?" Ash smiled at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Pikachu. It's all over now and I'm not going to leave you again if I can help it."

"Pi," Pikachu said happily, crawling up and nuzzling his trainer's face. Ash wrapped his arms around him in a gentle embrace, chuckling softly.

"I'm just glad you're okay. According to Team Rocket, that guy who pretended to me said some terrible things about you but they turned out to not be true, thank goodness." Ash sat up and looked at his backpack. It was probably a good idea to have a look through the contents and see if he could recover any more memories that way. He placed Pikachu to the side and picked up the backpack.

The contents of the backpack were a mess. Ash rummaged through them, looking at familiar things such as a pair of pink rubber gloves, a pink handkerchief with a yellow design imprinted on it and half of a Poké Ball. Then he found something that he didn't immediately recognise and pulled it out.

"Hm, what is this?" Ash studied the notebook with curiosity. He flipped the cover over and started to read the contents.

Brock came in a few minutes later, seeing Ash deeply absorbed in reading the notebook. "What are you reading?" he asked, coming over to sit on the bed.

Ash held out the notebook to him, his hand shaking slightly. "Just look," he said faintly.

Brock took the notebook and flipped through the pages, his mouth dropping. A number of scenarios had been written out on these pages and many of them were quite familiar. In fact, they described many occasions the group had shared together in exact detail. "You didn't write this, did you?"

Ash shook his head. "It was in the bag. I think he wrote it."

Brock continued to flip through the pages in silence, horrified by what he was reading. The only way somebody could know about what they had been doing in such detail was if they were spying on them.

"He was watching us, wasn't he?" Ash wrapped his arms around his body, suddenly feeling vulnerable. It made him quite uneasy to think that somebody could have been watching them so closely and he never had any idea.

"Indeed. He had to be doing it for quite a while." Brock put the notebook aside, not wishing to read any further. "It must have been part of his plan to impersonate you. How could he possibly think he could pretend to be you just by following you around for a few months? It's crazy."

Ash nodded silently in agreement, zipping up the backpack and dropping it to the floor. He then picked up the notebook and got up, walking over to the trashcan that sat in the corner of the room. For the next few minutes, he sat there, ripping up the pages of the notebook and discarding them.

* * *

The last thing she could remember was the falling, after she had been pushed over that balcony. He had wanted her to die, so that she couldn't tell anybody his secret. So was she dead? It felt like she had been in a very deep sleep. Her body was tired and achy, and her mind was fuzzy and disoriented.

What was that beeping? Whatever it was, it was loud and it just wouldn't stop. Something was strapped to her face.

Dawn's eyes fluttered open for the first time in days and she blearily looked around the room, wondering where she was. Her gaze fell upon the IV drip that ran into her arm. It seemed that she was in hospital. So she had survived after all. Relief surged through her.

That relief quickly faded however as she reminded herself why she had been thrown off the balcony in the first place. Ash was dead and an impostor had taken his place. Pikachu was gone too. She needed to tell Brock what was going on before it was too late. What if he found out too late, just as she had done, and wasn't so lucky?

Dawn heard footsteps coming into the room and looked up to see a nurse with a clipboard approaching the bed. The woman stopped still as she looked at Dawn, her eyes widening. A moment later, she turned around and hurried out of the room.

After that, everything was a hazy blur of chaos and voices. People were speaking to her and asking questions, but she was too tired and confused to answer them. Someone was telling her that she had been in a coma for almost two weeks. Had it really been that long? Dawn felt a flutter of panic in her chest. Anything could have happened in that time.

Some time later after things had calmed down, she received her first visitor.

"Mom!" Dawn exclaimed as Johanna came into the room. Her mother rushed forward to embrace her and they hugged each other tightly. "Oh, Mom, I was so scared. I thought I was going to die."

"It's okay now," Johanna whispered, stroking her hair. "Now that you're awake, everything is fine."

"Brock... I need to talk to Brock..." Dawn said anxiously. "It's urgent. Ash is..."

"It's alright," Johanna insisted, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Calm down. You need to get some rest. I've already popped by the Pokémon Center and asked Nurse Joy to pass on the message. They should be here soon."

Dawn sank back into the pillows and sighed. "I can't believe I was asleep for so long."

"You were lucky. Some people never even wake up from comas." Johanna exhaled. It occured to Dawn just how drawn and tired she seemed. Of course she was, if she had been sitting by her side for two weeks waiting for her to wake up. "Is there anything I can get you? Maybe a magazine?"

Dawn shook her head. She was feeling too weary to do anything at the moment and was content to just rest for now, while she waited. If only Brock would get here soon and she could tell him what was going on. He needed to know.

A while passed and the door opened a crack. Dawn looked up, gasping as she saw Piplup come running into the room. "Piplup!" she cried out joyfully as the penguin Pokémon approached the bed, reaching out to catch it as it tried to jump up. "Piplup, you were worried about me, weren't you?" she murmured, closing her eyes and smiling as she tightly hugged it. Piplup happily wriggled around in her grip, chirping its name enthusiastically.

"Hey, Dawn, it's good to see you're awake."

Dawn froze at the sound of the voice, a sudden flash of panic jolting through her body. It was him, wasn't it? She looked up toward the end of her bed, where she saw Brock and a certain person standing there. Dawn was about to open her mouth and shout out a warning, when she noticed something else.

Pikachu was there, sitting upon the younger boy's shoulder and smiling at her.

"Pikachu?" Dawn whispered, her mouth dropping open. If Pikachu was there, well and alive, then did that mean the boy standing there was really...

"Are you feeling okay?" Brock inquired. "We've been quite worried about you the whole time."

"Ash?" Dawn spoke in a querulous voice, hardly daring to believe it. "Is it really you?"

"Sure it is. That other person who pretended to be me caused a lot of trouble for us, but it's all over now," Ash said warmly, coming over to the side of the bed. "We won't have to worry about him anymore."

Dawn was silent, staring at him as tears formed in her wide eyes. Then she suddenly flung her arms around his waist, burying her face in his his chest. Quiet sobs burst out of her chest. "I thought you were dead," she gasped out, "and Pikachu too... and then he was pushing me off that balcony... it was so scary."

"Everything is fine now," Ash said reassuringly, patting her back and smiling. "Don't cry, Dawn."


End file.
